EDWARDSBURG — Edwardsburg just got a little bit greener, thanks to the Edwardsburg Sports Complex and Edwardsburg High School sports teams.

The ESC recently added two new fields to their property. The project, which took weeks to complete, involved many hours of volunteer work and many donation dollars, including help from the Edwardsburg High School football and soccer teams.

“[The new fields] took a lot of work and a lot of manpower,” said ESC Director Jennifer Mackling. “We are happy to have these new additions to the complex.”

The new fields are natural, grass turf. ESC officials chose natural turf over synthetic, plastic turf.

The ESC installed the turf for a number of reasons, one of them being personal preference. However, the biggest reason came down to cost, Mackling said.

As some synthetic fields can add up to be a more than $250,000 investment, ESC officials felt natural turf would be more cost effective as it is far less expensive up front. With natural turf, the ESC spent around $10,000 per field, with the help of donated materials.

Mackling also said that natural turf is considered to be safer due to the impact it can take, which also factored into their decision.

“We need more field space. These two are the newest,” Mackling said. “We wanted the best fields for everyone, and now with eight playing fields, we will be able host a lot of events, no matter the sport.”

The new fields will not be mature enough to use until the fall of 2018, when they will be rented out to youth sporting events, as the fields were built with younger children in mind.

The ESC did not install the new fields on its own, they reached out to the Edwardsburg High School football and soccer teams, who got involved with the project. The teams aided in installing the new fields by digging holes to place the sprinkling system in.

“The Edwardsburg Sports Complex is designed for youth sports and it was an opportunity for [the sports program] to help out,” said Football Coach Kevin Bartz. “[The ESC] needed a lot of help with their limited funds.”

The coaches and players spent more than 10 hours over several days digging holes for the sprinkler system on the ESC property.

More than 20 students from the football team alone showed up to help with the project, all of whom seemed to enjoy helping out, Bartz said.

“It was an opportunity to get a workout and help the sports complex,” Bartz said. “It was an opportunity for team building. It was hard work, there were some areas that were rock and clay, but it was a good time.”

Assisting the ESC with installing the new fields is part of large pattern of community service among the sports teams at Edwardsburg High, Bartz said.

“When we have opportunities like this to help out in the community that are geared toward youth athletics, we look to help out,” Bartz said.

Mackling said the ESC was grateful to receive help with the project from local sporting teams.

“We always appreciate all the help we can get. We had a big time gifts from the athletic teams at the high school,” she said. “We think the new fields will be a good thing for the community that kids will be able to enjoy for years.”