Golf Business News – Sussex golf clubs join forces to fight biodiversity loss
Golf clubs in England’s South Downs National Park and beyond are coming together to help fight biodiversity loss.
With golf courses comprising two per cent of England and a significant number of clubs in the South Downs, there is great potential for courses to become habitats for wildlife, particularly bees and butterflies, as well as golfers.
A network of golf clubs has now been established, with club managers from across the region coming together to share knowledge and practical support.
A total of 14 golf clubs from across Sussex recently took part in the conference at Pyecombe Golf Club, near Brighton, which is now one of the UK’s leading chalk grassland flower and butterfly courses.
It comes after the group’s first meeting last year at Lewes Golf Club, which is also leading the way in biodiversity restoration.
The meetings included live demonstrations on new lawn management techniques that can help wildlife, expert advice on conservation measures and details of funding available to environmental action clubs.
The program is being coordinated by Sussex-based charity, the Southwood Foundation, in collaboration with the South Downs National Park Authority and a range of partners, including the RSPB, England Golf, the Weald to Waves initiative, Buglife and the South Downs Trust.
Caroline Croft, Operations Manager for the Southwood Foundation, said: “There are an amazing number of golf clubs in Sussex who are doing fantastic work to regenerate the environment. We were surprised that clubs were taking these steps to restore the environment in isolation and thought it would be useful to bring together conservationists and club managers to share information, ideas and best practice.
“Some clubs are at the beginning of the journey and others are along with Lewes, Pyecombe and Brighton & Hove Golf Club. They were all open and cooperative and there was a great sense of community and common purpose.
He added: “Biodiversity in the UK is struggling, and we need natural corridors for wildlife to thrive. I think there are opportunities for golf clubs to play an important role. Their interest in being part of the 100 mile ‘Weald to Waves’ wildlife corridor through Sussex shows their enthusiasm. It’s inspiring to see these clubs working together to create great projects to restore the environment.
“Extending the rough where possible is one really impactful step they can take. Clubs that do this see a significant increase in pollination, such as butterflies without hindering the game, actually improving the player experience.
“It’s about saving club resources, working with nature to control pests instead of using expensive chemicals, for example, being able to reduce water use, or spend less time and fuel to reduce problems – so it’s a win-win for the environment and people that makes it really exciting.”
Pyecombe and Lewes have been working with South Downs National Park rangers to create a wildlife-friendly mowing scheme. Traditionally, grasslands are mowed and the clippings are left on the ground to rot, enriching the soil which then encourages coarse grasses to outgrow and outgrow wildflowers. With a ‘cut and collect’ system, the soil is not enriched with nutrients as the grass clippings are collected.
Besides soil enrichment, the rare chalk grassland is preserved and a variety of wildflowers are able to grow and provide habitat for bees, butterflies and other insects.
Over the past two years the South Downs Trust, the National Park’s official charity, has offered Lewes Golf Club, East Brighton Golf Course and West Hove Golf Club to help with eco-friendly mowing equipment.
Caroline added: “Ownership is very focused on the golf sector – the owners are seeing the potential and looking at what they can do. It’s been really rewarding to work with a community that hasn’t always been part of conservation discussions, seeing what restoring nature means to them and the big difference they can make.”
Tim Brewster, Course Manager at Lewes Golf Club, which received funding from the South Downs National Park to buy a ‘cut and collect’ machine, said: “After the first year, I started to notice large numbers of yellow rattles spreading. in different areas of the course, which already looks like they are starting to reduce the areas, great for golfers to find their ball but also great for wildflowers.
“The savings we have made are huge, we have reduced the time to complete this project to a month and a half. So that almost cuts the time in between, so a lot of money is saved in diesel and man hours. An increase in birds of prey has been noted, as have buzzards, red kites, and hawks. We continue to see parrots nesting on the cliff, hunting, and playing on the highways.”
Mandy Quick, Club Secretary of Lewes Golf Club, added: “We believe that by looking after the environment, we make our golf course a better and more enjoyable place for our members, visiting golfers and walkers. We also believe that we are helping to protect the environment for future generations.”
Last year an environmental survey at Pyecombe Golf Club found 34 species of butterfly, including rare species such as Adonis Blue, Brown Hairstreak and Grizzled Skipper.
Jan Knowlson, Chief Biodiversity Officer at the National Park, added: “Our ReNature campaign tackles biodiversity loss head-on by creating new wildlife habitats and improving existing ones. The nature of golf courses means that new habitat can easily be created to support prairie species and Pyecombe and Lewes are proof that biodiversity and golf can happily coexist. It’s great to see the golf community embrace the natural recovery and I’m excited for what can be achieved in the future.”
To find out more about the group contact Caroline Croft at caroline.croft@southwoodfoundation.org.
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