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How will Synthetic turf impact urban heat island and microclimate around Hosken Reserve?

April 3, 2021 at 1:52 am John Englart 4 comments

Adding a synthetic pitch to Hosken Reserve will increase the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE), reduce the Cool Park effect, and be felt mostly strongly by local residents. Artificial turf elevated temperatures will affect playability and heat stress to players, and not only in Summer but also for warm days in both Spring and Autumn when the temperature is elevated. Our Melbourne summers are getting longer.

For the most part it is local residents that would need to live with this permanent impact on increased microclimate temperatures over summer months and during warmer days in Spring and Autumn. Urban Heat island effect is more prominent during the night than during the day. This will likely increase evening energy use from air conditioners of local residents which will have a feedback of putting more heat back into the local environment.

Our temperature research at Hosken Reserve natural grass oval and Clifton Park synthetic pitch shows on a warm day (around 30C as per BOM records) the surface temperatures on the synthetic pitch are regularly 80-90 percent greater than natural grass, and may on occasion reach double the temperature of grass.

Moreland’s heat vulnerability is already at a high level, synthetic turf will contribute more heat when we need to be trying to cool our suburbs through green infrastructure. Moreland Council needs to find cooling solutions not exacerbate the problem with converting a much loved community shared grass oval to a fenced synthetic pitch.

Climate Action Moreland has had an interest for several years in urban heat island effect and how it is magnified by the rising temperatures of climate change and urban densification and development.  This post draws upon past literature reviews and a recent science literature survey associated with artificial surfaces and the urban heat island effect that formed part of our submission on the Hosken Refresh consultation.

We know that “Global warming exacerbates the urban heat island effect in cities and their surroundings, especially during heatwaves, increasing people’s exposure to heat stress.” (UNEP February 2021, Dan Li and Elie Bou-Zeid 2013)

A new report published March 2021 by the Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub highlights the increasing temperatures in Australian cities, including Melbourne, and the growing impact of the urban heat island effect on liveability.

It does not mention the role of synthetic surfaces that add to urban heat, but advises that putting in place green infrastructure to address growing urban heat takes time, early action is essential. Extreme and average maximum temperatures are projected to increase, the number of days over 35C will increase. This will reduce useability of synthetic surfaces unless water is used for temporary cooling which can be problematic for humidity, which then reduces the justification for synthetic turf providing a water saving. (Monash Climate change Communication Research Hub March 2021). A Natural grass sporting oval as open space is important for limiting urban heat island impacts at Hosken Reserve.

Moreland Council prepared a Moreland Urban Heat Island Effect Action Plan 2016/2017 – 2025/2026 in 2016. But it was not listed as a strategic reference document in the Sports Surface Needs Analysis (2018).

“Detailed analysis of Moreland’s UHIE vulnerability has found that there is an overall high UHIE across the municipality and a high number of extremely hot places; with very few cool places. The analysis highlighted that Moreland has a community that is vulnerable to this heat.”

The Action plan says mitigating the urban heat is a rapidly emerging priority. Putting in an artificial surface at Hosken Reserve boosting urban heat in the microclimate would nullify many of the economic, social and environmental benefits in keeping it grass as listed in the Urban Heat Island action plan. (See Moreland Council addressing the Urban Heat Island webpage)

Moreland Open Space Strategy on the Urban Heat Island Effect

The Moreland Open Space strategy 2012-2022 contains substantial detail on the need to mitigate urban heat island as part of Moreland’s Open Space strategy:

“There has also been a shift to using artificial turf to replace natural turf, particularly for high intensity sports and social spaces (including kindergartens). Although this provides a year round surface, it is a relatively expensive option for grass replacement. The value of artificial turf needs to be weighted up with issues of high temperatures emanating from the surface, maintenance costs, change in types of injuries, and the loss of the environmental benefits of the natural surface all need to be considered.” says the strategy.

Failure of Moreland’s Sport and Active Recreation Strategy to address climate issues

The Sports Surface Needs Analysis (2018) listed several strategic Moreland Council strategies and policies that were considered in writing the report. Council’s Urban Heat Island Action Plan (2016) wasn’t one of them.

The consultants report did address Urban heat island impact, but it was buried in chapter 8 on Environmental sustainability as point 8.6 (next to synthetic life cycle carbon footprint). Action was very generalised and unspecific under the label ‘Urban Island Heat Effect’ (They couldn’t even get this label correct!) recommending “Council needs to consider the effects in the future”.

Really? That’s the only recommendation for putting in a major piece of heat inducing sporting infrastructure that will affect local residents on a permanent basis in a warming climate? The weighting of this impact needs to be severely questioned as part of the triple bottom line decision making.

Urban heat island impact, like carbon footprint, was never mentioned in the executive summary of this report nor in the Council Officers report to inform Councillors when they voted on this report..

That is how much thought went into considering heat impacts on local residents of synthetic pitches.

Strangely, the Sport and Active Recreation Strategy (2020) fails to mention the Urban Heat Island Effect, or the Urban Heat Island Action Plan even once. Nor is any climate change lens applied for this strategic plan.

Climate change is already having a huge impact on sport. See the Climate Council (February 2021) report: Game, Set, Match: Calling Time on Climate Inaction, or Sports Environment Alliance (SEA) 2020 report: Future Proofing Community Sport & Recreation Facilities – A Roadmap for Climate Change Management for the Sport and Recreation Facilities Sector.

The Sport and Active Recreation Strategy totally ignores climate impacts or any strategic planning around climate impacts on active recreation and organised sports and community sporting facilities in Moreland.

This highlights that Sport and Recreation within Council appears to be operating in a very tightly siloed approach out of touch with Moreland Council’s climate emergency policy framework. This has implications for community trust on decision making on Hosken Reserve future.

So what does the science say on the Urban heat island effect and microclimates?

For background on how climate change and heatwaves are amplifying the urban heat island effect and the social, environmental impacts for Melbourne the 2015 literature review and annotated bibliography: Climate change and heatwaves in Melbourne – a Review, is an excellent resource to investigate further. (Englart 2015)

Surface temperatures of the artificial surface may be elevated well into the evening according to Loveday (2019). Local residents will particularly be impacted by this extended surface heat of the artificial turf into the evening contributing to keeping the canopy air temperature high and negating any Cool Park Effect right when they are hoping to open their houses to cool down. This will also keep air conditioners using energy and adding heat around houses.

The Victorian Centre for Climate Change Adaptation Research (VCCCAR) stated in a policy paper on responding to the urban heat island regarding synthetic turf:

“Not all Green Infrastructure is ‘Green’
A concern raised during this study was the suggestion by a number of interviewees that there is increasing use of artificial turf or grass on private and council-owned lands, because it is perceived to be ‘environmentally friendly’. One industry representative stated that they don’t call artificial turf ‘green’ infrastructure “because you can paint a wall green, but that doesn’t make it sustainable”.

Several interviewees argued that artificial turf is therefore not GI, even when coupled with underlying water retention tanks or other mechanisms. Although often portrayed as a solution to limited water availability, the literature suggests that artificial turf is not as green or eco-friendly as may have been claimed. McNitt et al (2008) state that “surface temperatures of synthetic turf are significantly higher than natural turfgrass surfaces when exposed to sunlight, with traditional synthetic turf being as much as 35-60°F higher than natural turfgrass surface temperatures”. Additionally, Claudio (2008) refers to work by Stuart Gaffin of the Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University, stating that “synthetic turf fields can get up to 60°F hotter than grass, with surface temperatures reaching 160°F on summer days” and concludes that the fields rival black roofs in their elevated surface temperatures.” (Bosomworth et al 2013)

UHIE Research from the US

In 2008 the McNitt study, one of several from Pennsylvania State University, on the heat retention of synthetic turf, concluded that synthetic turf was found to have substantially higher surface temperatures than natural turfgrass. It suggests there are benefits in cooling synthetic surfaces with irrigation to reduce heat retention when needed, although that comes with the cost of installing irrigation. Water cooling would reduce the water savings benefit of synthetic turf that is often used as a justification for synthetic turf installation. (McNitt et al 2008).

A related study from Penn State University assessing whether different fibre colours would make a difference to surface temperatures concluded that “No product in this test substantially reduced surface temperature compared to the traditional system of green fibers filled with black rubber in both the indoor and outdoor test. Reductions of five or even ten degrees [Fahrenheit. This equates to 2.77°C – 5.55°C] offer little advantage when temperatures still exceed 150° F [65.55° C]. Until temperatures can be reduced by at least twenty or thirty degrees [Fahrenheit. This equates to 11.11°C – 16.66°C] for an extended period of time, surface temperature will remain a major issue on synthetic turf fields.” (Pennsylvania State University Center for Sports Surface Research 2012)

Detailed Thermal modelling of artificial turf in an urban environment in southern California found “Using a simple offline convection model, replacing grass ground cover with artificial turf was found to add 2.3 kW h m -2 day -1 of heat to the atmosphere, which could result in urban air temperature increases of up to 4C.” This study has implications for surface heating of adjacent buildings, but that is a small impact for Hosken Reserve.

“The largest sensible heat flux from ground to canopy occurs over AT. The reasons are high surface temperature, lack of water availability (unlike grass), and higher surface roughness (than asphalt and concrete). Hence AT increases the canopy air temperature.” (Yaghoobian et al 2010)

UHIE research from Hong Kong

Research in Hong Kong highlighted that high air and surface temperature of artificial turf raises concerns on player health. Artificial turf with low specific heat and moisture incurs fast heating and cooling. The study identified cooler periods fit for matches on sunny, cloudy and overcast days. The study highlighted that Synthetic turf surface on a sunny day heated to 72.4 °C compared with natural grass at 36.6 °C. The synthetic turf dissipates heat by conduction and convection to near-ground air and by strong ground-thermal emission. The study found that the artificial surface exceeded the heat-stress threshold most of the time, but it cooled quickly from late afternoon for heat-safe use soon after sunset. (Jim 2017)

UHIE research from Saudi Arabia

An Urban Heat Island Effect study of the estimated Land Surface Temperatures based on satellite remote sensing examined the land use and land cover on the campus of King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The study found a consistent variation of between 7 and 9 degrees Celsius for LST across campus, spanning all summer and winter seasons between 2014 and 2019.

They noted “changes in the stadium’s field ground from natural to artificial turf (in 2018, all sports grounds on campus were changed to artificial turf to reduce maintenance and irrigation costs), which has probably resulted in a significant increase in the LST.” “policies related to the conversion of natural green vegetation to artificial turf may—as observed, for example, in the case of the University sports stadium—have immense implications for the microclimate by increasing LST significantly.” “due to the lack of evaporation, the temperatures of AT surfaces can exceed those of natural grass by as much as 21 ◦ C and of air temperature by 17 ◦ C.” (Addas et al 2020)

UHIE Research in Australia

A Perth based study on the urban heat island effect of various surfaces, including turfgrass and synthetic turf, included a focus on change in evening surface and air temperatures. The study correctly notes that the urban heat island effect is most prominent as a night time impact, although it also is seen during the daytime.

The research also highlights this is an issue beyond summer season and may include Spring and Autumn days when temperatures are elevated. This trend will only continue with rising temperatures associated with climate change. Perth average temperatures give a glimpse of Melbourne’s future.

For evening temperature change artificial turf surface temperatures will cool through convection of the heat to the atmosphere (lowering surface temperatures) but thus keeping the ambient air temperature high. This accentuates the night time impact of the urban heat island effect.(Loveday et al 2019) This will especially impact local residents around a synthetic field, but is also relevant to potential player heat stress from elevated ambient air temperatures in the evening.

Researchers from the University of Western Sydney have been actively researching in recent years urban heat impacts especially for playgrounds and schools. While no artificial sporting fields are considered so far, the research on playground and school artificial surfaces is still highly relevant, especially given the trend for more schools to install artificial surfaces with little regard to heat health risks to children and boosting urban heat island effect in the local microclimate.

“Assessment of surface temperature of different materials in full sunshine revealed that artificial grass and bare soil were the hottest surfaces, regardless of ambient temperatures. Sunlit artificial grass reached a mean temperature of 52°C during the normal summer day despite the air temperature being below 30°C. The surface temperature of artificial grass increased when ambient air temperatures rose and a maximum value of close to 70°C was measured for this material.” says the report.

One of the recommendations of the report is that “Use of artificial grass should be avoided or restricted to areas with zero exposure to direct sunshine.” (Pfautsch S., et al Sept 2020) This study built upon the work of an earlier report on Cool Schools (Madden et al 2018). It is also part of a collection of studies on impact of various surfaces and tree canopy on air temperature in Western Sydney (Pfautsch et al Oct 2020)

A recent news article in Sydney raised urban heat and plastics pollution issue of synthetic fields, with the NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes asking his department to investigate sustainable alternatives to synthetic grass. One of the climate researchers specialising in heat in urban environments commented: “I absolutely loathe synthetic grass,” said Dr Pfautsch, “It is possibly the worst materials for heat and it is made from completely unsustainable, non-recyclable plastic that goes straight to landfill.” (Power March 2021)

Melbourne climate researchers identified issues with urban heat island effect hotspots for Melbourne, and that the UHIE is predominantly a night time effect, measuring this night time temperature difference. The authors used an urban climate model, The Air Pollution Model (TAPM), to simulate the UHI intensity of 3–4 °C at 2 a.m. in January. Results for summer showed increased housing density results in increased intensity of night time UHI with growth areas and activity centres particularly affected.

The model was calibrated against observational data from medium density Preston, a residential neighborhood in Melbourne’s north. This was used to assess where urban planning should best be applied to mitigate UHI to improve local climates and identified in particular activity centres and growth areas. The research doesn’t specifically cite what role synthetic turf has in adding to night time ambient air canopy temperatures. (Coutts et al 2008)

Temperatures of sites around Moreland, including the synthetic pitch at Clifton Park, were measured on a 30C day in November 2020 by Climate Action Moreland. The synthetic turf spot temperature ranged up to double the temperature of natural grass. (Englart, 2020). Temperatures at Hosken Reserve and Clifton Park were also samples on 2 April 2021.

Synthetic turf may negate the Park Cool Island

The present grassed oval at Hosken Reserve would contribute to a park cooling effect for the local area, moderating urban heat island temperatures. A study on the cooling impact of parks (or park cooling effect) in moderating the Urban Heat Island Effect conducted in the Canadian city of Toronto concluded that “parks were cooler than the surrounding urban environment by up to 7°C” and that “park cooling was variable but could extend almost 100m downwind into the neighborhood.” (Slater 2010)

There is similar research in Melbourne showing that parks can be several degrees cooler than the surrounding urban area, in a feature known as the Park Cool Island. They identified that “the Park Cool Island intensity is often largest at night (like the UHI) and tends to increase with park size (Upmanis and Chen, 1999). Parks with extensive tree coverage tend to be cooler during the afternoon due to shading effects, while more open parks with turf are cooler at night due to greater long-wave radiative cooling.”(Coutts et al 2013)

Given that there is less convective mixing at night, and artificial turf surface temperatures are elevated to 9pm at night according to Loveday et al (2019), increasing ambient air temperature, UHIE night time temperatures will be exacerbated when local residents are trying to cool their homes down.

What does the Victorian Artificial Grass for Sport Guide advise?

The Victorian ‘Artificial Grass for Sport Guide’ fails to assess synthetic sports surface urban heat island effect (UHIE) for the local neighborhood, although it does minimally highlight there is a problem with high surface temperatures and heat stress health impact for users of the surface.

The Guide also highlights “The introduction and enforcement of appropriate heat policies by sporting bodies/clubs is essential.” and that sporting clubs should “ensure that a heat policy is known and observed.” (Sport and Recreation Victoria Feb 2011)

A quick peruse of Football Federation Victoria website did not find any general heat policy. A search of Pascoe Vale Football Club website also failed to find a specific heat policy for their players, especially children.

In contrast, The WA State Government Department of Sport prepared a detailed Natural Grass vs Synthetic Turf report and Decision Making Guide. The guide devotes a section to Heat issues – natural grass and synthetic surfaces which contains temperature comparisons between natural grass and artificial turf from studies carried out in the US, Japan and elsewhere, focusing on third generation artificial turf. (WA State Government Department of Sport 2011)

The consultants report for the Sports Surface Needs Analysis (2018) only offered limited measures to ameliorate the extra urban heat of these fields, with perhaps some extra tree vegetation on the margins and recommendation to use Coolgrass technology synthetic turf which only offers a marginal reduction (10-15 percent) in artificial surface temperatures. (Moreland Council April 2018) This is far from sufficient for player safety and in moderating surface heat and contribution to the urban heat island effect impact on local residents.

Most Moreland suburbs show a high urban heat vulnerability rating. A study by Loughnan et al (2013) assessed environmental, demographic and health characteristics producing a heat vulnerability index, then mapped the heat vulnerability of Melbourne and other Australian cities down to the postcode level. All of Moreland’s suburbs show up as high on the vulnerability index.(Loughnan et al 2013)

Low heat retention synthetic turf? but it comes with a trade-off on water use

There is some good technology news for synthetic turf for moderating surface heat retention. There are certain products by synthetic turf manufacturers using organic infill that enable a high moisture retention capacity. Through regular irrigation twice a week for a field, this can limit the temperature to slightly above grass temperatures.(Greenplay Organics, July 2012)

But this has a major tradeoff: it requires substantial water irrigation negating the purported water savings used as one of the main justifications for synthetic turf. Like all synthetic turf products there is also substantial embeded water content during the manufacturing process, a fact often overlooked when comparing water use of synthetic vs natural turf operations.

“For artificial turf, by far the two highest contributors to this water consumption were water used to create energy used in manufacturing artificial turf (50.12% of life cycle water consumption), and water used to clean the turf (48.65% of life cycle water consumption). The remaining 1.23% came from backing production, water used directly in production (stage one), and blade manufacturing. For natural grass, the largest component is by far the water used to irrigate the grass once it is installed. This represents 82.77% of the total water input. If you add in the water used to produce the sod, which is essentially just watering the lawn before it’s rolled up and delivered to a home, then that figure rises to 87.90% of all water consumed.” Adachi et al (2016)

Alm (2016) argues evidence that synthetic turf uses about 4 years worth of water in the manufacturing process as one year of natural turf irrigation. Synthetic turf will also use water for cooling and cleaning. So the proffered water savings of synthetic turf during maintenance needs to be balanced with the embedded water during manufacturing once total life-cycle assessment analysis is taken into account.

A study by Kanaan et al (August 2020) called Water Requirements for Cooling Artificial Turf confirms a water usage for cooling model that Synthetic Turf and Natural turf water usage may be comparable during the maintenance part of the total life cycle assessment.

This organic infill synthetic turf product is likely to be more expensive than regular infill blowing out the costs of synthetic turf.

Even when using a 2 to 1 equivalence usage ratio (as used by Football Federation Victoria) for a regular crumb rubber infill synthetic turf the costs still don’t stack up against the economics of a natural grass sporting field. Using an expensive organic infill synthetic turf would further increase the economic differential.

Using an expensive infill synthetic turf pitch also does not negate several other reasons making synthetic turf sporting field highly problematic:

• the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions may be up to 1500 tonnes CO2 equivalent for a FIFA sized pitch;
• the huge problem with synthetic turf at end of life ending as waste to landfill and microplastics;
• biodiversity impacts on soil biota and trophic impact on local birdlife;
• the various health risks, including more burns from synthetic turf, more lower extremity injuries, Higher infection risk as synthetic turf “encourages a microbial community structure primarily defined by anthropic contamination”.

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References:

Addas, Abdullah; Goldblatt, Ran; Rubinyi, Steven. 2020. “Utilizing Remotely Sensed Observations to Estimate the Urban Heat Island Effect at a Local Scale: Case Study of a University Campus” Land 9, no. 6: 191. https://doi.org/10.3390/land9060191

Alm, Abigail., (May 2016), Is Synthetic Turf Really “Greener”? A Lifecycle Analysis of Sports Fields Across the United States, Undergraduate thesis, Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin https://dspace.carthage.edu/handle/123456789/5520

Adachi, Jennifer., Jansen, Chris., Lindsay, Marina., (2016), Comparison of the Lifetime Costs and Water Footprint of Sod and Artificial Turf: A Life Cycle Analysis, Austin Park, Carolina Villacis UCLA Environment 159 Professor Deepak Rajagopal June 2, 2016. https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/sod-vs-artificial-turf.pdf

Bosomworth, Karyn, Trundle, Alexei, McEvoy, Darryn (October 2013), Responding to the urban heat island: a policy and institutional analysis, VCCCAR, ISBN: 9780734048915 http://www.vcccar.org.au/publication/final-report/responding-to-urban-heat-island-policy-and-institutional-analysis

Climate Council (February 2021), Game, Set, Match: Calling Time on Climate Inaction, ISBN 978-1-922404-14-5 (digital), https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/game-set-match-sports-climate-change/

Coutts, A.M., Jason Beringer, Nigel J. Tapper, (2008) Investigating the climatic impact of urban planning strategies through the use of regional climate modelling: a case study for Melbourne, Australia. International Journal of Climatology. DOI: 10.1002/joc.1680
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joc.1680/abstract

Coutts AM, Tapper NJ, Beringer J, Loughnan M, Demuzere M (2013) Watering our cities: the capacity for water sensitive urban design to support urban cooling and improve human thermal comfort in the Australian context. Prog Phys Geogr 37(1):2–28 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0309133312461032

Englart, John (February 2015) Climate change and heatwaves in Melbourne – a Review DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3050.7688 https://takvera.blogspot.com/2015/02/climate-change-and-heatwaves-in.html

Englart, John (November 2020), Taking the temperature of Moreland Playgrounds and surfaces, Climate Action Moreland, 24 November, 2020, https://climateactionmoreland.org/2020/11/24/taking-the-temperature-of-moreland-playgrounds-and-surfaces/

Football Federation Victoria, (2018), State Football Facilities Strategy to 2026
https://www.footballvictoria.com.au/sites/ffv/files/2018-12/FV_Facilities_Strategy.pdf

Greenplay Organics, (July 2012), Naturally Cool Synthetic Turf, 3BL CSR newswire. https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/34424-naturally-cool-synthetic-turf

Jim, C. Y., 2017. Intense summer heat fluxes in artificial turf harm people and environment. Landscape and Urban Planning, Volume 157, pp. 561-576 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.09.012

Kanaan, Ahmed, Sevostianova, Elena, Leinauer, Bernd and Sevostianov, Igor (August 2020), Water Requirements for Cooling Artificial Turf, in Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, August 2020 DOI link: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0001506

Li, D. and Elie Bou-Zeid (2013), Synergistic Interactions between Urban Heat Islands and Heat Waves: the Impact in Cities is Larger than the Sum of its Parts, (abstract), Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 201, May 2013, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-13-02.1

Loughnan, ME, Tapper, NJ, Phan, T, Lynch, K, McInnes, JA (2013), A spatial vulnerability analysis of urban populations during extreme heat events in Australian capital cities, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, 128 pp. http://www.nccarf.edu.au/publications/spatial-vulnerability-urban-extreme-heat-events

Loveday, Jane; Loveday, Grant; Byrne, Joshua J.; Ong, Boon-lay; Morrison, Gregory M. (2019), “Seasonal and Diurnal Surface Temperatures of Urban Landscape Elements” Sustainability 11, no. 19: 5280. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195280

Madden, A.L., Arora, V., Holmes, K.A., Pfautsch, S. (2018) Cool Schools. Western Sydney University. 56 p.
http://doi.org/10.26183/5b91d72db0cb7

McNitt, A.S., D.M. Petrunak and T.J. Serensits. (2008). Temperature amelioration of synthetic turf surfaces through irrigation. Acta Hort. 783:573-582.
https://plantscience.psu.edu/research/centers/ssrc/documents/temperature-irrigation.pdf

Monash Climate change Communication Research Hub, (March 2021) Temperature check: Greening Australia’s warming cities. Australian Conservation Foundation. Available from the Analysis and Policy Observatory https://apo.org.au/node/311336

Moreland Council, (April 2018), Sports Surface Needs Analysis (D18/102018), Moreland Council Agenda 11 April 2018 https://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/globalassets/key-docs/meeting/agenda-council-upc/council-agenda-11-april-2018.doc (Doc 161MB)
An excerpt of Sports Surface Needs Analysis (D18/102018) is also available here: https://fawkner.org/2018-04-11-sports-surface-needs-analysis/

Moreland Council, (2016) Moreland Urban Heat Island Effect Action Plan 2016/2017 – 2025/2026. https://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/globalassets/areas/esd/esd-uhie-urban-heat-island-effect—action-plan—final-draft-for-council-june-2016.pdf

Moreland Council, (2020) Sport and Active Recreation Strategy, https://www.activemoreland.com.au/globalassets/website-active-moreland/documents/recreation/mor002-rec-strategy-v5.pdf

Pennsylvania State University Center for Sports Surface Research, (2012) Synthetic Turf Heat Evaluation-Progress Report. https://plantscience.psu.edu/research/centers/ssrc/documents/heat-progress-report.pdf

Pfautsch, S., Tjoelker, A R. (Oct 2020) The impact of surface cover and tree canopy
on air temperature in Western Sydney. Western Sydney University, 140 p. https://doi.org/10.26183/bk6d-1466

Pfautsch S., Rouillard S., Wujeska-K l ause A., Bae A., Vu L., Manea A., Tabassum S., Staas, L., Ossola A., Holmes, K. and Leishman M. (Sept 2020) School Microclimates. Western Sydney University, 56 p. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26183/np86-t866

Power, Julie, (14 March 2021), Fake grass may be greener, but much hotter and less friendly to environment, Sydney Morning Herald. Accessed 14 March 2021. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/fake-grass-may-be-greener-but-much-hotter-and-less-friendly-to-environment-20210312-p57a95.html

SEA (Sports Environment Alliance) (2020) Future Proofing Community Sport & Recreation Facilities – A Roadmap for Climate Change Management for the Sport and Recreation Facilities Sector. https://www.sportsenvironmentalliance.org/resources/guide-to-future-proof-sport-recreation

Slater G (2010) The Cooling Ability of Urban Parks. https://www.asla.org/2010studentawards/169.html

Sport and Recreation Victoria (Feb 2011), Artificial Grass for Sport Guide. https://sport.vic.gov.au/publications-and-resources/community-sport-resources/artificial-grass-sport-guide

UNEP (February 2021) Making Peace with Nature. A scientific Blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies. ISBN 978-92-807-3837-7 https://www.unep.org/resources/making-peace-nature

WA State Government Department of Sport, (2011) Natural Grass vs Synthetic Turf Decision Making Guide. https://www.dlgsc.wa.gov.au/department/publications/publication/natural-grass-vs-synthetic-turf-study-report

Yaghoobian, N., Jan Kleissl, E. Scott Krayenhoff (2010) Modelling the Thermal Effects of Artificial Turf on the Urban Environment. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology. Vol 49 332-345 http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/2009JAMC2198.1

Entry filed under: health, heatwave, news. Tags: artificial turf, cool park effect, Hosken Reserve, Recreation, Sports, synthetic turf, UHIE, Urban heat island, urban heat island effect.