Webinar Title: Landscape Equipment Sustainability Strategies
Webinar Date: March 12, 2026
Speaker: Dr. Paul Bartley, Assistant Professor, Landscape Environmental Stewardship, Department of Horticulture, Auburn University
Series: Green & Commercial
Total Exercises: 3
Pairs per exercise: 7–8 (including 1–2 distractors each)
Matching Exercise 1: Equipment Performance — Gas vs. Battery Under Load
Timestamp Reference: 17:47 – 27:00 (runtime/work capacity testing)
Type: Timing-Practice
Instructions: Match each performance finding in Column A with the correct measurement or outcome in Column B. Two items in Column B are distractors and do not match any item in Column A.
| # | Column A | Column B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas string trimmer distance per tank (field test) | a) About 30% | |
| 2 | Best-performing battery blower simulated tasks | b) About 175 | |
| 3 | Runtime decrease from removing string guard and extending line | c) 6,000–7,000 feet | |
| 4 | Most popular gas blower simulated tasks | d) Roughly 300 | |
| 5 | Lowest-performing battery blower simulated tasks | e) About 497 | |
| 6 | Runtime decrease from using thicker string diameter | f) About 20% | |
| g) About 50% | |||
| h) 3,000–4,000 feet |
Answer Key:
1 → c, 2 → d, 3 → a, 4 → e, 5 → b, 6 → f
Source in transcript: String trimmer field test (~19:02, blocks 295–302), string guard/line effects (~20:30, blocks 316–319), blower task comparison (~25:00, blocks 396–406)
Matching Exercise 2: Noise Levels — dBA Measurements Across Sources
Timestamp Reference: 28:20 – 32:20 (decibel dynamics and noise comparison)
Type: Timing-Practice
Instructions: Match each noise source in Column A with the approximate dBA measurement Bartley reported in Column B. One item in Column B is a distractor.
| # | Column A | Column B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ambient noise in Bartley’s empty house | a) 34 dBA | |
| 2 | Five-month-old baby crying | b) 50 dBA | |
| 3 | Battery backpack blower at operator position | c) 60 dBA | |
| 4 | Battery backpack blower at 50 feet | d) High 70s dBA | |
| 5 | Gas backpack blower (Echo) at operator position | e) 82 dBA | |
| 6 | Gas backpack blower at 50 feet | f) About 80 dBA | |
| 7 | NIOSH threshold for detrimental noise exposure | g) 85 dBA | |
| h) 102 dBA |
Answer Key:
1 → a, 2 → d, 3 → e, 4 → c, 5 → h, 6 → f, 7 → g
Note: Column B item “b) 50 dBA” is a distractor. Bartley mentioned 50 dBA for a whisper fight / child napping but it does not match any Column A item as listed.
Source in transcript: Ambient measurements (~29:07, blocks 457–478), blower noise comparison (~31:00, blocks 499–517)
Matching Exercise 3: Autonomous Mower Research — Key Findings and Partners
Timestamp Reference: 36:54 – 47:05 (autonomous mower testing and data to decisions)
Type: Timing-Practice
Instructions: Match each item about autonomous mower research in Column A with the correct fact or figure in Column B. Two items in Column B are distractors.
| # | Column A | Column B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Company that retrofits commercial mowers for autonomous operation (Atlanta-based) | a) Greenzie | |
| 2 | Camera-based obstacle detection probability | b) 93% | |
| 3 | Efficiency gain from dual-mower strategy | c) 55% | |
| 4 | Labor cost reduction from dual-mower strategy | d) 40% | |
| 5 | Assumed mower lifespan for cost analysis (hours) | e) 3,000 hours | |
| 6 | Manual mower capital cost vs. autonomous mower capital cost | f) 15,000 vs. 45,000 | |
| g) Doosan Bobcat | |||
| h) 75% |
Answer Key:
1 → a, 2 → b, 3 → c, 4 → d, 5 → e, 6 → f
Note: “g) Doosan Bobcat” is a distractor — Doosan Bobcat manufactured the prototype radar-based autonomous mower but is not the retrofit company. “h) 75%” is a distractor.
Source in transcript: Greenzie and Doosan Bobcat (~38:07, blocks 616–618), detection rates (~45:25, blocks 744–745), dual-mower strategy (~44:03, blocks 720–722), mower lifespan (~43:46, blocks 716–717), capital costs (~43:28, blocks 709–710)
Matching exercises generated for UGA Center for Urban Agriculture / GTBOP Archives
Source: Corrected SRT (Stage 1) — GTBOP_Transcript_2026-03-12_LandscapeEquipment.srt (948 blocks)
Structural reference: GTBOP_Archive_Summary_2026-03-12_LandscapeEquipment.md