On Course for Change
Golf courses cover 150,000 hectares of UK land and are potentially ideal locations for pollinating insect habitat creation. Up to 500 golf courses are being sought to join the scheme, with each committing to establish at least 5000 sq m of specific Operation Pollinator seed mix. The summer-flowering seed mixes have been created especially for different golf course situations and are backed by four years of research from the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI). The idea is to introduce these habitats in ‘out of play’ areas of the course, rather than on rough areas close to the fairway that might see hundreds of club golfers hacking (or hopefully swinging) their way through.
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Diamonds in the Rough
“By working with experts, we have developed the knowledge, experience and expertise in the practical management techniques needed to successfully establish and develop wildflower areas in out of play rough,” explains Simon Elsworth, Syngenta Turf and Landscape Manager. “With this approach, golf courses can deliver a net gain in biodiversity, whilst maintaining the level of inputs required to consistently produce top quality playing surfaces.”
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Simon Elsworth, Syngenta Turf and Landscape Manager
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“Resurrecting bumblebee populations will help to prove that golf courses can be managed in harmony with the environment and give both the players and managers immense pride in their club, Simon adds. “Even the most intensively played golf courses can find space for environmental habitat creation. Wildflower areas also improve visual appearance and provide important cost savings in rough improvement programmes.”
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Bombus ruderatus is one of the many bumblebee species that could be helped by the introduction of the Operation Pollinator programme on golf courses.
For more information, please visit
www.operationpollinator.com/golf