Case Studies - Natura Installations
Indiana Dog Park > 2,000 sf
Challenge
An apartment complex in Indianapolis, north of downtown, was having difficulty with their dog park. More residents adopted dogs over the last two years thus the use of the park increased. The late, wet spring caused their dog park to be muddy, which was not acceptable for the apartment management team, the residents or their pups. They wanted a new ground cover that wouldn’t force them to close the park on rainy days.
Approach & Results
We wanted a clean, level surface, so we tilled and removed debris before we seeded and fertilized the grass. The next day, we began installing Natura across the dog yard, starting at one end and working to the other. By early afternoon, the hybrid grass was fully installed and ready for use. The bio-degradable anchors were used to keep the turf in place.
The grass is growing through Natura in areas where it isn’t being heavily utilized. This is what you’d expect. Even when there’s no grass, the turf still appears grass-like, as you can see from the image on the slider above.
Everyone is content a year after the Natura grass was installed. The dog park added exercise equipment to encourage more intensive usage of the area. In talking to some residents who were in the dog yard with their pups on a March morning, they said, “we didn’t use the dog park before, now with the new turf we love it, there’s actually a group of us who get together daily here now.” That’s the kind of ringing endorsement we love to hear. Happy residents mean more business to the property managers!
The residents of this Indianapolis apartment complex and their dogs will enjoy this dog park oasis for years to come, and will not have to worry about bringing home a muddy dog. Success!
Here’s the time-lapse video of the installation.
Additional Photos
Missouri Dog Yard > 2,000 sf
Challenge
An apartment complex in west St Louis county was experiencing high use of their existing dog park, and the grass was not standing up to increased traffic. They did not want to permanently cover the ground with layers of rock to put a traditional turf over top – that was simply more than what was needed. With the promise of a wet winter ahead, they knew they needed a fast solution that would protect the ground and be seen as a valuable amenity by their residents who have dogs. They wanted a dog park that could stay open all winter long; rain or snow, and still look great come spring.
Approach & Results
Taking advantage of some unseasonably warm November days in St Louis the complex’s grounds crew removed the old, worn dog obstacles and cut the grass down low to prepare the 2,000 sq ft park for a full Natura™ covering. Natura was rolled out from the high point of the pack to the low point, anchoring seams along the way.
Natura provided a great value with low installation costs (their own crew) and low on-going costs (no need to re-sod annually). The complete installation was complete in about 7 hours – which includes ground prep to level the yard and the installation. This was significantly less than a traditional artificial turf installation that likely would have taken days, if not weeks to install.
Additional Natura was later installed at the gate to complete the installation. Natura is bound to reduce resident complaints about dog park closures or muddy conditions that leads to excessive puppy baths. In fact, in talking to a resident enjoying the park with her dog, she said, “honestly, it was so $%^# and muddy before we would not even use the dog park. We have been here twice already because of the new turf.” Satisfaction ratings are improving already!
The property manager, Jamie, says, “residents love the turf, although you always hear more if people are unhappy.” Such is the life of an on-site property manager. Luckily, with Natura now installed for the multiple freeze / thaws ahead for a St. Louis winter, Jamie will be able to focus on the next complaint, not the dog park – that one is taken care of.
Before
After
Additional Photos
Dog Park Gate Kit : 130 sf
Challenge
A superintendent of a 220-unit apartment complex saw Natura at a local apartment trade show and knew instantly that it could help his muddy dog park situation. The total dog park measures well over 1,000 sf, but they wanted to “try before they buy”. They want their dog park to be a valuable amenity for their residents, and the “muddy yard” they had currently was not acceptable.
Approach & Results
As is often the case with a totally new product in the market, you need to see it and experience it before being willing to fully commit.
Natura was installed around the entry gate to cover the area that has the most traffic. The remainder of the dog park was seeded and hay was put over the bare ground and grass seed. As installation was happening the property manager shared that just based on the installation visual she will be proposing additional budget to complete the park in the next year, and she was going to spread the word to the other property managers within their company.
Grass will begin growing through Natura (the ground was seeded before installation) in a couple of weeks. We will report back with photos and a recap of how Natura is performing vs the area not covered by Natura.
North Carolina Dog Yard > 2,000 sf
Challenge
Country Kennel is an active boarding and daycare location in North Carolina and is part of the Destination Pet network. With an average of 110+ dogs being let out four to five times a day, the owners were having a difficult time keeping their dog yard attractive and tidy. With so much paw traffic, their dog yard looked like a dirt patch—and when they tried to plant grass seed in April, it would be brown and dead by June. They needed a product that would 1) beautify their dog yard, 2) protect grass seeds and seedlings during germination and growth, and 3) stand up to the wear and tear of hundreds of paws a day.
Approach & Results
We prepped the ground by removing debris and adding loose dirt to the yard until we had a level surface. After prep time, it took just a few hours for three of Country Kennel’s maintenance crew to install the Natura turf with the included biodegradable anchors.
One unforeseen obstacle was the hard and rocky ground. It was difficult to pierce the included biodegradable anchors into the ground to bite onto the turf. We’d never seen this problem before, but luckily a little ingenuity saved the day. We found that using a cordless drill to pre-drill the holes for the anchors made the job much easier—it’s just like drilling a pilot hole for a wood screw! We’ll have that trick up our sleeve for future installations—but wetting the ground the day before is also a good solution for this problem.
Results
After installation, the owners decided to hold off on letting dogs out on the turf to see how the grass would grow. This is an unnecessary step—the turf can be used immediately upon installation—but we do love a good science project around here. Within two weeks, grass was growing through. Bear in mind, the ground is far from ideal when it comes to grass growth, so all parties considered the installation to be a resounding success. The owner has plans to install Natura in other yards to replicate the success of this trial run.
