Howard Drury will be judging the GroundsFest Innovation Awards which celebrate excellence and innovation across landscaping, amenity management, turf care and related industries.
As the gates open on GroundsFest 2026, judges will tour the showground and seek out the latest ground-breaking machinery, tools and services set to boost productivity and profitability. There will also be awards for products that have stood the test of time and are still used today by landscaping and grounds teams.
The 2026 award winners will be unveiled and celebrated in the Landscape Zone, Hall 3 at 3.30pm on 16 September at the GroundsFest trade event, which takes place on September 16–17, 2026.
What do you love most about your work?
Being retired and seeing how things have massively changed since I taught Arboriculture and grounds maintenance for the West Midlands Training Scheme at Kings Heath Park. Keeping up to date with all the latest innovations, the use of technology to improve results and meeting the people who come up with these ideas and concepts.
What would you say to young people considering careers in the sector?
Best profession to be in, whatever sector you choose to follow, I always suggest going broad spectrum initially until you find what fields appeal appeals most to you, remember there are openings for all levels of knowledge and skills, you don’t have to go to university if you want to work on grounds maintenance. On the other hand, if you did go the University route there are opportunities in more technical and senior posts commanding a higher salary.
What would be your big ask of new Prime Minister Andy Burnham?
We need to see what he can actually deliver to help our industry. We need a better strategy for our parks; this would include broad spectrum apprenticeships along with many of the old skills of turf maintenance and tree management The minimum wage has created issues for many as have zero hours contracts. Over regulation can affect the profitability of any business.
What are the most important challenges the landscape/ groundscare industries need to overcome in 2026?
The weather, both now and during the very wet winter, plans and timings may have to change rapidly along with machinery and staff allocations. We must carefully weigh up the balances of biodiversity and appropriate maintenance. Increasing costs are driving up the cost of the end product, we need not to cut corners but find the best practices to keep businesses viable. We must not drive ourselves out of business but look towards new ideas and innovations to improve our businesses. Technology will play the huge part but ensuring staff are equipped with all the skills needed in today’s modern and evolving world.
What are you most looking forward to at GroundsFest as a visitor?
Seeing new developments, improvements on well proven technology and of the tried and tested and have stood the test of time like my Coopper Peglar Sprayer or Sisis Trulute. Above that just meeting people of all ages and profiles that create the buzz of this industry Where else can we actually get hands on and see equipment both large and small performing from so many sources and suppliers all on one site.
