Advisory - Ecology - Ecology Monthly Blog

Ecology and Environment Unit - Monthly Updates

 

The Ecology & Environment Team will be adding monthly updates to this page in order to keep everyone up to date with important projects and the latest developments in the world of golf and environment. Read on for the story so far....

 

October Update

 

 

 As many of you will now Bob Taylor has been around the industry for a long time now and it will therefore come as no surprise to you to find out that during October Bob celebrated his 50th birthday.  Prior to leaving for a celebration week in Sardinia Bob was subject to a somewhat embarrassing presentation chronicling his extraordinary 20 years as a Golf Course Ecologist at STRI.

 

Education is always high on the agenda towards the back end of the season and during October STRI presented at six of the regional English Golf Union Roadshows, presenting formal lectures in the morning before taking the delegates on a course walk in the afternoon.  Each of the Roadshows (held at Birkdale, Notts Hollinwell, Cleveland, Reading, Littlestone and Cold Ashby).  These roadshows were well attended with 50 – 60 delegates at each.  This year there was a strong environmental theme with presentations also from the R&A regarding sustainability in relation to turf-grass management.

 

Lee Penrose had an interesting time visiting FIFA Headquarters in Zurich where he gave a presentation regarding carbon footprinting and off-setting to FIFA's Annual General Meeting.  Aside from attending meetings and giving his presentation he also got to hold the World Cup and in doing so realised a childhood ambition although not exactly in the circumstances hoped for.

 

September Update

 

September has been a frenetic month for all STRI Ecology & Environment staff as the main surveying seasons begins to draw to a close.

 

Richard Stuttard has been leading the judging process for the BIGGA Golf Environment Competition, visiting over 25 golf clubs the length and breadth of the UK.  The judging process is now complete and the winners will be announced next month through BIGGA and STRI.

 

Kelly and Richard have been involved in the BASIS training courses held at STRI (led by Dr. Ruth Mann).  BASIS is a professional register of individuals who are qualified to advise on the storage and use of fertilisers and pesticides.  The BASIS training courses last approximately 2 weeks and involve intensive on-site education, leading to an examination and professional qualification thereafter.  The training course and qualification are aimed at turfgrass professionals (or indeed anybody working within the amenity sector) and are an all you need to know guide to issues relating to the use and storage of pesticides.  The course would be of great value for any turfgrass professionals whether it be course managers, golf club managers etc and for further information you should contact Dr. Ruth Mann at STRI by email at ruth.mann@stri.co.uk. 

 

In and amongst his normal consultancy work Lee Penrose presented two seminars to the Golf Club Managers Association (GCMA).  The first being to the Regional Secretaries Meeting and the second a more detailed presentation to the GCMA South West Region.  The focus of these seminars was "business of the environment" with attention paid to legal compliance, cost saving through implementation of best practice and making the most out of your golf facility in order to attract new members.   A summary of the presentation is available from Lee Penrose who can be contacted at lee.penrose@stri.co.uk.

 

All staff at STRI hope that its clients both existing and future all have a successful playing season and look forward to implementing some proactive winter works in preparation for next year.

 

August Update

August is traditionally the month whereby the BIGGA Golf Environment Competition visits get under way.  This year, Richard Stuttard has taken on the role of lead judge in the Environment Competition and as such began visiting golf courses the length and breadth of the UK assessing their environmental credentials.   2008 has seen a significant number of new entries to the competition which is excellent news for all involved as it is the new entrants to the competition that are its life blood.

Lee Penrose and Bob Taylor re-visited Oppegard and Mosse & Rygge Golf Clubs in Norway as part of their longstanding project on behalf of the Norwegian Golf Federation, in order to undertake wildlife surveys and compile Ecological Management Plans.  Whilst Bob and Lee were in Norway a Press Day was held at Oppegard Golf Club with the aim of informing both local and national newspapers of the good work being undertaken regarding environmental issues at Norwegian Golf Clubs.  The story was printed in a number of national newspapers and also more local publications close to the golf clubs in question.

Work has also been carried out towards planning the dedicated environmental seminars in Denmark in November.  These seminars sponsored by Scotts Professional Products and Ransomes Jacobson are being held in conjunction with the Danish Golf Union on Saturday 1st November at the Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel in Århus and Sunday 2nd November at Idrættens hus in Brøndby.  If you are interested in attending please feel free to contact the Ecology Department at STRI for more information.

During the summer months STRI's work is concentrated on carrying out ecological surveys and providing advice prior to the practical management work being undertaken during the winter months.  This year the team have undertaken wildlife surveys at Ballybunion Golf Club along with other protected species surveys (such as bats, great crested newts etc at a number of other courses throughout the UK).  Much of the teams work has been focussed in Scotland and Ireland during August (purely coincidental), with Kelly Harmar producing a Management Plan for Douglas Park Golf Club near Glasgow, Bob Taylor working at Tralee, Dooks and Galway Bay whilst Lee prepared Ecological Programmes for Panmure, Prestwick and East Renfrewshire Golf Clubs.

During late July/early August Lee Penrose entertained guests from Thailand and Japan.  Micah Woods (Asian Turfgrass Centre) spent one week with Lee visiting some of the most interesting golf courses throughout the UK.  Course Superintendents from Japan were also in attendance for part of the week and were shown golf clubs including Royal Liverpool, St. Andrews, North Berwick and Renaissance.  An educational and worthwhile time was had by all and the guests were extremely impressed with the standard of European Golf Courses.

We know the wet weather in August has made life difficult for greenkeepers but as these pictures show, our Ecologists have not been spared!

July Update

On the golfing calendar, July stands out as an important month in the UK.  The Open at Royal Birkdale is without doubt the highlight of the year for all keen golfers throughout the UK and the Ecology and Environment Team has been once again heavily involved in this years Championships, providing advice on how best to manage the diverse and delicate ecosystems that the course supports so that they not only provide definition to each hole, but are strategic golfing features that support a diversity of wildlife.

This is always the aim of the Ecology and Environment Team when visiting any golf club, however the Open provides the additional considerable challenge of dealing with the pressures of spectator access.  Some 150,000 people have passed through the site during this years Championship, putting incredible demands on the course.    Bob has been involved in determining spectator routes for the site to ensure the most vulnerable habitats will be protected from these pressures.

During the course of the event STRI comes under the media spotlight somewhat, undertaking TV and radio interviews regarding the ecological considerations of the Open.  Kelly and Bob have been this years ‘stars’ describing the ecological highlights and how they are being managed and protected.

Following another successful and thrilling Championships the Ecology and Environment Team remain heavily involved at Royal Birkdale, ensuring the course recovery is as fast and effective as possible.  Bob will be undertaking monitoring visits for some time after the event, before attention turns to the next Open even at Turnberry in 2009.

 

June Update

Orchids within rough at Ballybunion Golf Club

The summer period is the best time in which to complete wildlife surveys and the team through June have undertaken botanical and bird surveys at Ballybunion Golf Club in the Republic of Ireland and botanical survey using GPS equipment in areas of sand dune on the south side of the Firth of Forth on behalf of The Renaissance Club. The team having completed the great crested newt survey at Royal Lytham (see May Blog above) are now undertaking a bat survey to determine presence/absence in and around trees destined for removal.  Assessing for protected species is now mandatory under the 1981 Wildlife & Countryside Act (as amended) which makes it an offence to damage or disturb protected species such as bats at or around their roosting sites, with  ignorance no longer being an accepted excuse under the amended legislation. 

Bob has been in Scotland through much of June, working on a Management Plan for the Championship Course at Carnoustie, this is a plan giving specific emphasis to the R&A objectives of ensuring that ecological and environmental issues are prior to the next Open Championship.

The Ailsa course Turnberry 1 oystercatcher egg spotted within scrape left of 10th hole

 

Bob also visited Turnberry, on behalf of the R&A to identify and mitigate ecological issues prior to the British Amateur Championship held on the Ailsa Course between the 16th and 21st June 2008.  As well as birds such as skylark, meadow pipet, yellow hammer and linnet there were several areas of orchids.  Oyster catchers were active through areas of single left of the 10th hole and recommendations were made to ensure that these areas were not damaged during the event.

In addition to the above Bob undertook visits on behalf of the R&A to the Old Course to address issues associated with the rough and gorse.  The Old Course is in an unusual position, where the rough is suffering from a lack of growth due to trampling pressures.

During June Bob has also visited the new Castle Course and is currently engaged in drawing up a Management Plan for the ongoing development and management of this superb new facility.  The Castle Course is one venue that every aspiring golfer should visit (it is now open for play).  Each hole supports its own character and interest without necessarily being overly penal. 

Lee Penrose has also been extremely busy throughout June undertaking some quite interesting work including development an Environmental Management Plan for the sports facilities around the University of Westminster and London Welsh Rugby Team.

Kelly Harmar recently attended a superb seminar in London run by the Carbon Trust on Carbon Auditing. She met with a diverse group of business groups showing clearly the wide and diverse range of interest now being given to this subject. STRI are increasingly developing its services to ensure that we remain at the forefront of these very sensitive issues and importantly to ensure that golf clubs are not left behind..

Richard Stuttard has undertaken a number of visits on behalf of the EGU and interestingly stepped back in time to one of his previous roles within the institute that of assessing the appearance, durability and playing quality of the tennis courts at Wimbledon.  This work is undertaken annually, headed by Andy Newell of STRI's Turfgrass Biology Department.

May Update

The Ecology and Environment team have throughout May been working at a variety of interesting and diverse locations.  Richard and Lee were based in Jersey for a week, working at both La Moye and Royal Jersey Golf Clubs.  Bob and Lee have also been over in Oslo, Norway, undertaking bird surveys at a number of Golf Clubs in the area.

Also, as mentioned in the April update, Bob returned to Royal Lytham Golf Club, carrying out bottle trapping as part of the Great Crested Newt survey.   A newt survey requires at least 4 visits using different trapping techniques to build confidence in the results. The traps were set in the evening and inspected early the following morning. No newts were found but the traps caught a number of toad tadpoles and a solitary small fish (see picture below).


Bob inspecting bottle traps at Royal Lytham Golf Club

Back in the office however, what has been striking this month  is the significant increase in enquiries regarding water treatment, particularly the use of reedbeds.  This is extremely encouraging as it shows that Golf Clubs are beginning to realise their legal obligations regarding waste water treatment and are investigating the most appropriate courses of action for compliance.

Reedbeds are an effective, efficient, low maintenance and relatively cheap solutions to the problem of wastewater treatment.  Further details on all wastewater treatment options will shortly be posted elsewhere on the STRI website.

Kelly and Richard attended ‘Sustainability Live!’ – an exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham dedicated to showcasing the latest initiatives in sustainable business. Events like this help significantly in developing expertise in sustainable management allowing us to assist golf facilities in all aspects of environmental sustainability. The latest technologies on show included energy efficient heating systems; low energy lighting; power generation using wind turbines, solar panels, and biomass burners; efficient water systems including rainwater harvesting and much much more.

The amount of exhibitors and indeed visitors at the show highlighted just how seriously climate change issues are being taken and how all businesses, no matter how big or small, can get involved.

April Update

The busy pace of life in the Ecology and Environment Team has continued throughout April and the whole team have been spread far and wide undertaking a variety of differing projects. 

The month began with Richard and Bob travelling down to Swansea where a housing development, with associated sports facilities, is proposed on farmland close to the Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries SAC (Special Area of Conservation).  The purpose of the visit was to ensure that the water quality of this internationally designated area will not be compromised during the construction and operational phases of the development.  Our work involved developing wetland treatment systems (reedbed filters) in the area to clean and filter drainage water from the site before it enters the SAC.

The use of reedbeds/wetland treatment systems to provide water treatment solutions is rapidly increasing in the golf industry, as legislation becomes ever more stringent, and the Ecology and Environment Unit are receiving increasing numbers of enquiries to design reedbed water treatment facilities for UK golf clubs.

Also in April, Bob travelled to Almeerderhout Golf Club in the Netherlands to undertake a provisional ecological assessment of the golf course.  The Ecology and Environment team are increasingly interested in expanding the team’s expertise into Europe and have planned several workshops in Denmark and Sweden later this year.

                                       
                             Golf and nature together at Almeerderhout Golf Club

The whole team have spent time at Royal Lytham Golf Club this month undertaking a Great Crested Newt survey. The club are applying for planning permission to infill an old irrigation lake and the local council are keen to make sure there are no great crested newts present, as these amphibians are protected by UK and European law.  So far the surveys have involved visual appraisals of the site for suitable habitat, egg searches and net sweeps of the water body.  No newts have been found so far but several more visits are required before we can satisfied that there are no newts present.  Further surveys, including bottle trapping will be carried out during May.

                                 
                                                Great Crested Newt surveying

Meanwhile, Kelly took part in a newt survey much closer to home in Burley in Wharfedale nature reserve and found lots of smooth, palmate and Alpine newts.  Alpine newts are attractive newts with a blue colouring but have been introduced from mainland Europe.  Both smooth and palmate newts are native to Britain.

                                  
                                    Escaping Alpine newts, Burley in Wharfedale

Towards the end of April, Kelly attended the Greening Events Summit in London.  This was linked with another important developing initiative which the golf industry is starting to become a part of: carbon and waste auditing. Understanding the carbon footprint of a golf facility is vital for a number of reasons, not least, to reduce waste and bring about financial savings.  Waste audits identify inefficient operational processes and then suggests ways in which they may be improved.

An interesting point to end this month’s blog on is that the average golf club spends an estimated £15,000/year on energy and 15 - 25% of this energy is likely to be wasted through inefficient systems.  This means up to £3,000 unnecessary expenditure each year... food for thought?

March Update 

March has seen the Ecology and Environment Team carry out a diverse range of work.  Again the diaries have been full and the month began with Richard and Kelly holding the first of two Waste Management Seminars, designed to raise awareness of environmental issues surrounding waste production and energy & water consumption that are becoming increasingly important, not only within golf, but within all domestic and industrial areas of society. 

Meanwhile, Lee and Bob spent time in Norway during early March, undertaking a series of bird surveys as part of management plan projects at Hørsholm and Moss and Rygge Golf Clubs near Oslo.

Education was again the order of the day when Bob and Richard were invited to lead a course walk and lecture at Royal North Devon Golf Club as part of the BIGGA southwest regional seminar.  Despite the recent severe storms in the area, the weather held and the day was hugely successful.


Bob discussing ecological issues at Royal North Devon Golf Club

A significant amount of time in March has been spent working towards the Open Championship. The Teams first task was the crucial issue of securing consent for the Open to go ahead at Royal Birkdale.  To achieve this, Kelly prepared a detailed methodology statement outlining how measures will be put in place to protect the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) from the inevitable pressures that the Open will bring. Bob and Kelly then visited Royal Birkdale to determine spectator routes that will cause the least disturbance to ground nesting birds such as skylark and other important organisms known to be residing in the area. 

This month Kelly also completed a wildlife guide of the Open venue providing interesting facts regarding  the wildlife that is to be found in the area and indicating specific wildlife highlights that the course has to offer.

Finally, towards the end of the month Lee and Richard travelled to Ireland to visit Brittas Bay, where a new golf development has been proposed.  Discussions took place with a local planning consultant to ensure the protection of an area of ecologically important fen.


Lee discussing fen habitat with a planning consultant at Brittas Bay

February Update

Historically January and February have been quiet months for STRI's Ecology Unit however, that has not been the case in more recent years.

Following BTME Lee headed out immediately to the Golf Industry Show in Orlando, in order to keep up to date with the latest developments in the world of golf course maintenance.  A number of new products were on display with the new Eclipse Greens Mower from Jacobsen drawing much interest.  Lee also spent a great deal of time talking with US based Superintendents regarding STRI's Ecological and Environmental Services for Golf and gaining exposure for our products and services.  The combined Yardage/Environmental booklets were particularly popular with the American market and it is highly likely that STRI's Ecologists will be returning to the US fairly shortly to produce a number of publications.


Golf Industry Show in Orlando

Other interesting initiatives from February include Kelly Harmar's work with the English Golf Union and Natural England looking at developing protocols for the provision of a coastal footpath throughout England.  Should any of you coastal course managers wish to learn more about this please feel free to contact Kelly on 01274 518903 or Paul Keeling at the EGU direct.

Our normal environmental consultancy services have been going strong through February with Richard visiting Pannal Golf Club to discuss gorse management and heather restoration through this historic and famous course, whilst Bob visited Conwy Golf Club in Wales to look at coastal erosion issues.  Coastal erosion is becoming an increasing and real concern for coastal golf clubs, particularly along the west coast of the UK due to climatic extremes becoming more common place.  STRI is visiting more and more clubs throughout the UK who are dealing with these issues and the ever changing climate.


Increasing coastal ersion along the west coast of the UK

Towards the end of February Bob visited Castle Stuart Golf which is set to the east of Inverness overlooking the Moray Firth.  The course is now almost complete and is a fantastic 18 hole facility, on what was previously primarily agricultural land.  Both Stuart McOlm and Chris Haspell have guided the development from start to finish and are to be commended on the high standard of the site.  Upon opening in 2009 it will be well worth a visit.

Earlier in the month, Bob visited Ireland to speak at the inaugural Golf Links Initiative.  In attendance at the meeting were a variety of Golf Managers, Superintendents and representatives of many golf and conservation governing bodies.  The seminar was hailed a success and will no doubt be the first of many.

January Update

With Christmas now just a distant memory, the Ecology Team is gearing up for what looks to be another very busy and successful year.

Bob Taylor spent 15 days in China during January, travelling from Lejang in the north to Jinghong in the south, looking at the different vegetation types in anticipation of lecturing and contributing to a Greenkeeping Seminar held at the prestigious Spring City Golf and Lake Resort, just outside Kunming.  Bob spoke on ecology and environmental issues and carried out a series of workshops out on the course.  The seminars were attended by over 120 participants including greenkeepers, owners and officials as well as greenkeeper lecturers attending from Universities in China.

The event was organised by the China/USA/Scotland Education Partnership.  From Bob's research prior to the event, you may be interested to learn that China is one of 17 most important nations for bio-diversity, boasting over 1,800 species of higher plants and 792 birds.  It is a country, that since the early 1990's even with recent global expansion, has recognised its ecological responsibilities and has in general become quite proactive, both in developing nature reserves and signing up to the Convention on Bio-diversity.  Indeed, China was the first to complete the conventions action plans relating to protection of wildlife, making it a crime punishable by death for damaging important wildlife resources. The China action plan can be sourced through google.

       
      The Lake Course at Spring City                      Bob During one of afternoon
          Robert Trent Jones Design                            workshops at Spring City

Kelly Harmer has returned from her honeymoon in New Zealand to catch up with numerous outstanding projects and take part in running an important seminar on legislation at BTME.  Kelly also contributed to the very successful Environmental Management Planning workshop co-led with Lee Penrose and Richard Stuttard.

The whole team attended BTME and as always, it was good to meet with friends acquaintances and indeed make new contacts.  The ecology team would like to take this opportunity of wishing everyone a very successful and prosperous 2008 and look forward to working with many of you throughout the coming year.

December update

December is generally a catching up period for the Ecology and Environment Team.  A busy programme of meetings and project write-ups makes December a rare period when the Team gets some time in the office.

Business development is the aim at this time and meetings with BIGGA, the EGU and in-house advisory consultations have all contributed to the Ecology and Environment Teams plans for 2008 and beyond.  Our in-house meetings look at the issues currently affecting the golf industry and those that are likely to be important in the near future.  Throughout 2007, energy, waste and water have been key words in the industry and their importance will undoubtedly increase through 2008.

Bob did manage to escape the office in early December, heading over to Ireland to work on a coastal erosion project at Galway Bay Golf Resort.  The erosion issues at this site on Irelands west coast were made all too clear at the time of Bobs visit as the area was making National newspaper headlines for the violent weather it was enduring.  Waves of up to 7 metres in height were reported to be battering the Galway Coast which, given the proximity of the golf course, as can be seen from the photo below, means further problems for Galway Bay.  It is hoped that the introduction of further rock armoury, gabions and potentially a breakwater will protect the course from further erosion issues.


Coastal erosion at Galway Bay Golf Resort

Finally, the whole Team welcomes Kelly Harmar (Nee Watson) back from her honeymoon and would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

November Update

As we rapidly approach the festive period there have been no signs of the Ecology and Environment Unit slowing down.

Lee has spent much of the month on an extremely successful trip to South East Asia where he has been sharing his expertise with those attending the Pacific golf Managment a series of roadshows through Japan, Phillipines & Thailand and also the Asia Pacific Golf Development Summit in Singapore.  The trip has created stronger bonds between STRI and Asia and was a superb relationship building exercise.


Lee at the Vintage Club in Thailand

November has also seen the annual Ecology Training Courses be re-developed into an independent entity entitled ‘Integrating Ecology into Golf Course Management – A Practical approach’.  The course has been extended to a day and a half and incorporated lectures, discussions, group practical work and a course walk.  The inaugural course was very successful with good group interaction and extremely positive feedback.

Training and education continued this month with Bob lecturing at the newly renamed Golf Union of Wales Roadshows.  These were held in three locations where Bob passed on advice regarding today’s ecological and environmental considerations.


Jeff Perris and Bob at the LLandrindod Wells Roadshow

As the month draws to a close, work is still pouring in and we have now (temporarily) lost Kelly as she leaves to get married to Oli.  As Richard did earlier in the year, Kelly is leaving the department high and dry for a month but will return in the New Year.  The whole Team wishes her a long and happy marriage.

October Update

Two weeks out of every October are taken up by the English Golf Union administered educational roadshows.  Every year our golf course ecologists lead a course walk at six venues throughout England, discussing all matters ecological and environmental with a group of some 50 – 60 greenkeepers.  This year the roadshows were held at Trentham Golf Club, Kendal Golf Club, Ganton Golf Club, Burnham on Berrow Golf Club, Basingtoke Golf Club and Colne Valley Golf Club with either Lee Penrose or Bob Taylor speaking at each.  In addition to the ecological course walk, a one hour agronomy on course lecture was led at each venue by different agronomists including Stuart Ormondroyd, Henry Betchelet, Andy Cole and John Lockyer.  The roadshows as always were a tremendous success with positive feedback from all delegates.


Stuart and Lee gave talks at Ganton Golf Club

A Golf Environment Europe/European Forum for Sustainable Golf meeting was held in Malmo in Sweden with STRI's Ecological and Environmental Services for Golf represented on the forum, helping to guide ecological and environmental issues on a European level.  The Golf Environment Europe Environmental Accreditation is about to be launched across Europe.  This is the new International Environmental Accreditation for which golf clubs can achieve recognition and certification for their ecological and environmental efforts and also receive ongoing advice and consultation through the process.  Keep an eye on the STRI and Golf Environment Europe website www.golfenvironmenteurope.org for further information. 

Preparations for the month of November also demanded time from the whole team.  November is traditionally a month of education, this year all STRI's ecologists will be presenting a 2 day environmental seminar for greenkeepers at STRI on the 21st and 22nd November at STRI's offices (contact Amy on 01274 565131 for further information if you wish to attend) in addition, Bob will be speaking at the Golf Course Managers Association meeting at the Belfry on the 7th November, whilst Lee will be giving lectures throughout South East Asia, speaking in Japan, Thailand, the Philippines (see http://www.asianturfgrass.com/page/news.php?id=40&act=view&lang=en) and lastly at the Asia Pacific Golf Development event in Singapore – (see http://www.golfconference.org).

 

September Update

Never the same wallpaper…

The role of an STRI golf course ecologist is a varied one.  One week you can be visiting a club in Cornwall, then spend the next week in Glasgow, followed by a week on the west coast of Ireland or a trip into deepest Wales.  Each club has its own unique environment in which golf is played, and in which wildlife lives, and the needs of each club are never the same.  Ecology is a wide subject and though each of the four Ecology advisers has his or her own interest or speciality: Bob is mad on fungi, Lee and Richard are keen on birds, and Kelly is an expert in aquatic plant management, a specialism is not enough and each advisor needs a good grasp of all aspects of ecology: grasses; wildflowers; trees; birds; insects and mammals; and the environment that our wildlife depends upon: water; soil; nutrients and climate.

All of the varied elements of ecology which are needed for sound golf course management will be explored in our practical ecology workshop at Bingley in November.  This years Ecology course is a standalone workshop and covers one and a half days.  Even with this extra half day the itinerary is packed as we have tried to incorporate all aspects of our work to help integrate ecology into golf course management.  The ecology course includes talks on grassland management, ponds and water features, trees and woodlands and heather management and a course walk around the Bingley St Ives Golf Club.  St Ives Golf Club contains elements of open parkland, wooded parkland and upland heathland and is an ideal location to consider the diverse ecological problems experienced on UK golf courses and the management solutions that can be put in place to address these problems.  After the course walk the Bingley St Ives case study will be continued on paper, with a workshop designed to translate the observations from the course walk into a management plan for the course.

As well as talks and workshops run by the STRI advisors there will also be talks from two guest speakers.  Steve Oultrum from Wilmslow golf club will give an account of his motivation and inspiration for integrating ecology into his daily work, the reaction of members to this work, and ways of communicating ecological importance to colleagues and to members, while Richard Brown from British Seed House Ltd. will give a talk on the best methods of establishing wildflowers in golfing rough and the management of wildflower meadows.

The hope is that this course will assist greenkeepers and other golf course professionals who have an interest in ecology but who are unsure how to improve the health and wildlife value of their course.  Questions are welcomed throughout the course and the second day will end with an informal question and answer session with questions put to any of our ecology staff.

The workshop takes place on the 21st and 22nd of November and a timetable of all the talks and workshops can be viewed on the STRI website under ‘latest news’.  Attendance at the 1 ½ day course costs £175 per person for STRI subscribers and £195 per person for non-subscribers (exclusive of VAT).  Contact Hiren on 01274 518 908 for more information.

 August Update

Firstly congratulations to Richard Stuttard on his recent marriage to Fiona.  Richard and Fiona have spent the last three weeks touring France, leaving Kelly, Bob and Lee to hold the fort.

August has been another busy month with Kelly engaged in the ongoing assessment of the Bumblebee Trials at Worsley, Fulford, Bearwood Lakes and Haggs Castle Golf Clubs, all being undertaken as part of the wider Operation Bumblebee project funded by Syngenta.

The BIGGA Golf Environment Competition visits are now well underway and will continue through to the end of September, whereupon the winners will be announced shortly afterwards.

Lee has been actively engaged in a number of Ecology/Landscape Management Plans throughout England and Ireland, the latest being carried out at Bearwood Lakes in Berkshire.  The long term aim of any Management Plan must be to maximise the aesthetic, golfing and ecological potential of the site, providing prioritised direction to the greens staff actively engaged in executing the work.

Bob has also been busy, initially on the west coast of Ireland undertaking coastal erosion work at Lahinch and Ballybunion Golf Clubs, and completing an overview of the ecological opportunities at Tralee Golf Club.  Anyone who has not yet played a round of golf at any of these clubs  should endeavour to do so as, these are top golfing venues set within beautiful landscape surroundings and are worth a day of anyone's time.

 
Bob and George Brown discuss the ecological sensitivities and course set up in preparation for the 2009 Open Championship

As Ecological Advisor to the R&A Bob has also carried out annual ecological monitoring appraisals at Muirfield, Royal Troon, Turnberry, The Old Course and in conjunction with Richard Windows (Turfgrass Agronomist to the R&A), completed a post Open assessment of the Championship Course at Carnoustie.  Interestingly, damage at Carnoustie has been relatively light, surprisingly so given the inclement weather throughout much of the tournament period.  Recommendations largely concentrated on turfgrass renovations through areas of more acute wear. 

Richard Windows also joined Lee Penrose at the newly constructed Renaissance Club to assess agronomy and landscape development, providing recommendations for tree and rough grassland management alongside the perfection of the developing putting and playing surfaces.

The month concluded with both Bob and Lee heading off to Oslo to meet with the Norwegian Golf Federation (NGF), in order to continue the ecological development of golf clubs in Norway.  A site visit was undertaken to Oslo Golf Club in order to walk the course with the greens staff prior to the course reconstruction in early September.  The aims of the visit were to provide best practice guidance on the reconstruction and also gather baseline data to facilitate production of a booklet regarding the conservation value of the course following its redevelopment.  A meeting was also held with Moss & Rygge and Oppegård Golf Clubs prior to production of their Ecological Management Plans in early 2008. 

 
Lee and Bob with Ole Martin Lilleby of the NGF at Oslo Golf Club

July Update

Some of our more regular and avid readers of the Ecology Blog may have noticed that Bob Taylor has not featured much over the past few months.  This is all about to change—well, for this month at least—as Bob has been heavily involved in coordinating a large and complicated Environmental Impact Assessment covering a proposed 14-hole golf course extension and course reconfiguration at Forest Pines Hotel & Golf Course situated on the outskirts of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire.  The proposal is to reconfigure the existing 27 holes and, by removing sections of the existing course and constructing a further 14 holes within an adjacent large expanse of planted woodland, create two 18 holes of championship length and quality.  The Environmental Impact Assessment is a statutory process designed to ensure that all potential impacts have been identified and, moreover, are of an acceptable nature, and is required under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Town & Country Planning) Regulations 1999.

A number of surveys were undertaken (some using outside expertise) all of which have been brought together in a series of four large ring binders, identifying impacts and appropriate mitigation strategies.

It is always important for any ecologist not to lose sight of his or her guiding ecological and environmental principles and, at first glance, it would be guide easy to suggest that replacing large areas of woodland with a series of golf holes would be difficult to justify.  The proposal however would leave large stands of woodland intact, each linked to each other by strong ecological corridors of similar vegetation types and the golf holes themselves should with appropriate management increase the overall wood edge effect (often the most ecologically rich and diverse areas of any woodland habitat), providing strong structural and species interest for birds, invertebrates, bats and other species.  The golf holes will also increase the extent of grassland habitat, again maximising interest for invertebrate, rodent and bird species.

The Environmental Statement showed quite eloquently that more breeding bird territories were noted on the existing golf course (cut out from the woodland around 11 years ago).  Similarly, more bats (greater numbers and species) were evident on the existing golf course in comparison to the adjacent woodland.  These reports are currently being redrafted and will be included within the News Item section of the STRI ecology website shortly.  The work at Forest Pines has thus far culminated in the production of a wildlife guide showing the diversity of wildlife that has come to benefit from the presence of the golf course since its construction and an Open Day for the public provided opportunities for discussion following formal presentations and an on-course walk.


Bob with all four components of the Forest Pines Environmental Statement.

This month, Bob has also undertaken a joint architectural/ecological visit to Hillside Golf Club with Jonathan Tucker, STRI Golf Course Architect, with a view to addressing ecological sensitivities given that the course is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), alongside redesign proposals being put forward to improve the length and standard of the course.

In mid-July Bob also led a foray for the Doncaster Naturalists Society on to the Wheatley golf course in Doncaster giving the naturalists a chance to record wildlife from areas normally inaccessible to anyone other than players and the associated staff.  Although almost four hours were spent on the course, less than three golf holes were surveyed such was the pace set by the group. 

Naturalist Societies and wildlife groups are present in all counties plus larger towns and would be worth contacting by anyone wishing to learn more about the wildlife on the course or in their area.  Contact your local museum services or library to find out more about the wildlife or naturalist groups within your region.  A full review of the meeting held at Wheatley Golf Club and the species recorded has been included on the News Item section of the STRI ecology website.

Through July, the ecology team July has been busy sifting through the applications for the 2007 BIGGA Golf Environment Competition sponsored by Ransomes Jacobsen, Syngenta and Scotts Professional Products.  A short list of golf clubs has been produced based on the quality of the applications submitted.  Visits will commence from August to October.  Progress will be monitored via this ecology blog site.

 
This year's entries to the BIGGA Environment Competition - to be judged by Richard and Kelly.

June Update

June has been an exceedingly busy month for all 6 full-time members of the Ecological and Environmental Unit at STRI.  June has traditionally been the month where BIGGA officially hand over the completed Application Forms for the Golf Environment Competition and as always it appears at first glance that the standard of entry to the Competition is exceptionally high.  It is good to see that there are a significant proportion of new entrants to the 2007 Competition and these Clubs will benefit from feedback in the form of written reports and perhaps a site visit from one of the Ecology Team.

 
Richard Stuttard (left) at Bury St Edmunds Golf Club in early June

June has been a month of climatic extremes with the early part of the month seeing Lee and Richard visiting golf clubs in Suffolk in temperatures in excess of 28ºC and the tail-end of the month being dominated by monsoon style rain leading to extensive flooding through the north of England making both on-site visits and travel extremely difficult.  These extreme fluctuations in weather are undoubtedly becoming commonplace throughout Europe over the last few years and this has direct implications for the Course Manager.  The previous focus for most landowners when it comes to managing rainfall has been to shed water from the land as quickly as possible and pass the problem on to somebody else.  It is now widely recognised that this is an unsustainable approach leading to more and more landowners (including golf facilities) investigating the possibility of installing appropriately designed SUstainable Drainage Systems of “SUDS” in order to capture control and release surface ground water through a series of swales, open ditches and retention pools.  Pro-actively managing the surface water in this fashion does give the Course Manager control over areas of the course which may previously have suffered from flooding or bank side erosion through inappropriately designed ditch/stream networks. 

The STRI’s Ecological and Environmental Services for Golf have recently been engaged by the Norwegian Golf Federation to undertake ecological management planning at 3 well-known Norwegian Golf Clubs.  This includes a ecological input into the reconstruction of Oslo Golf Club (Norway’s oldest and most respected golf club).   Lee visited the site in late June in order for an initial course walk and meeting with the Norwegian Golf Federation Representatives of the Golf Club.  Regular updates on the project will be included on this page in future months.

 
Oslo Golf Club

Lee Penrose and Henry Bechelet (of STRI’s Agronomy Advisory Team) were requested by the Greenkeeper Training Committee to give lectures at a 2 day intensive course “training with trainers” seminar held at Aldwark Manor during late June. Both Lee and Henry gave in-depth talks about the key environmental issues and pressures facing the golf industry at the present time to an audience of golf course management lecturers at Colleges and Universities throughout the UK.  In conjunction with the above Kelly Watson has also recently produced a new chapter for the Greenkeeper Training Manual describing in detail how to undertake baseline environmental audit of a typical golf facility.

May Update

The demand for advice regarding all ecological and environmental aspects of golf course management has been exceptional over the past year, leading to the employment of Kelly Watson in January.

STRI's Ecology & Environment Unit are now delighted to announce that Richard Stuttard has joined team.  Richard will be based at STRI's Head Office in Bingley and will be out in the field visiting Golf Clubs in an advisory capacity as soon as possible.  Richard brings with him a wealth of experience following his four years working within STRI's Turf Grass Protection Unit, as a Pesticide Trials Co-ordinator. 

Richard Stuttard
Richard Stuttard, the new member of STRI's Ecology Team

Richard qualified from the University of Bradford in 2003 with a BSc Hons in applied ecology and therefore in addition to all of the above, he has a strong background in wildlife conservation and habitat management.  Richard is a keen golfer and understands the nuances of the game along with the day to day politics involved in the running of a golf facility.

Following his time as Pesticide Trials Co-ordinator, Richard has built up an extensive knowledge of identification of all the major turf grasses.

During the early part of May, Lee spent three days in the High Court in Dublin (the highest court in the whole of Ireland) in order to act as an Expert Witness on behalf of The Heath Golf Club, Portlaoise during a week long trial, regarding the grazing/management of the common land on which the golf club have resided for over 100 years.  Lee acted on behalf of the Golf Club as an expert in all matters regarding golf course management and ecological management with particular emphasis placed on the over-grazing of wildlife habitats.  The club were successful in achieving a ruling which was acceptable to them and allowed them to continue playing golf on the existing course indefinitely.  Acting on behalf of golf clubs as expert witnesses in legal proceedings or public hearings etc is a service that the ecology unit have provided for a number of golf clubs quite recently.

The application forms for the 2007 BIGGA Golf Environment Competition have been posted to all UK based Golf Clubs and these will be returned to BIGGA House over the next 6 weeks or so, before the closing deadline of Friday, 24 June.  The application forms are also available to download via the BIGGA website following this link:

www.bigga.org.uk/education/bigga-golf-environment-competition-2007/

STRI's ecology unit will begin the desk based and field judging during July with the competition drawing to a close in October/November 2007.  Watch this space for further updates.

April Update

April proved to be a very dry month throughout much of the country and although not ideal for grass growing due to the March variations in both temperature and dry weather conditions, it has made the team’s job much easier in carrying out site inspection work.  Kelly, Richard and Bob have revisited the four clubs (Haggs Castle, Worsley, Fulford Heath and Bearwood Lakes) taking part in the bumblebee project trials sponsored by Syngenta.

The bumblebee trials have been up and running for five months now and are finally getting to the exciting bit where different management techniques will be trialled and compared between plots. There are six different experimental plots in each trial block, each with a different management regime. So far one plot in each trial block has been sprayed with fusillade (a graminicide - being used under experimental approval), one plot has been turf stripped, one has been sprayed with Primo Maxx (a plant growth regulator that affects a plant hormone in the grass) and two others have been cut and scarified.  Four plots have been sown with a wild flower mix to kick start wild flower growth.  One plot is to be kept as a ‘control’, with no management action taken, to provide a baseline by which to judge the other five plots. The main aim of all the trials is to create gaps in the grass cover to allow wildflowers to grow and take hold, increasing the food available for bumblebees.


 The plots don’t look very different to each other yet but here is a sneak preview of the fusillade plot at Haggs Castle.  It’s already obvious that there are plenty of gaps for the flowers to exploit.

A number of clubs ranging from Scotland to Denmark have expressed their written interest, wishing to take part in the trials which shows how enigmatic bumblebees are.  Bumblebees have declined significantly over the last 20 years and they do need our help.  For further information check out the superb "Field Guide to the Bumblebees of Great Britain and Ireland" written by Mike Edwards and Martin Jenner ISBN 0-9549713-0-2.  The book is well worth the £10 that it costs.  All bees are represented, together with field and identification notes, and descriptions of their status and vulnerability.  Most importantly the book describes steps that we can all take to assist in bumblebee conservation.


  
At the turn of the month both Bob and Lee, together with representatives from Golf Environment Europe were lucky enough to visit one of Syngenta's main research facilities in Basel, Switzerland where a number of amenity grassland, cereal crop and flowering plant trials were being progressed.

Richard Stuttard and Bob have recently been involved in a vegetation mapping programme involving the use of Topcon GPS mapping information systems, through a series of coastal sand dune vegetation.  This, given the environmental impact regulations is becoming increasingly important as local authorities and the statutory consultees require accurate, qualitative and quantitative data to be able to assess potential impacts of any proposed golf or other developments.


 Bob using the Topcon Vegetation Mapping Equipment through a coastal sand dune system.

April has been an exciting month for Kelly Watson who, on 26th April (after a two-hour grilling!), successfully defended her thesis on the seasonal influence of large aquatic plants on river flows and is now a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Kelly’s research sites were based on the beautiful River Frome in Dorset, a chalk river dominated by water crowfoot (Ranunculus spp.) which can grow up to seven metres long and three metres wide and which form a significant obstacle to water flow.  Ranunculus grows mostly underwater but it produces delicate white flowers in May and June, which are raised up above the water surface on pedicules and are pollinated by bees and flying insects – a perilous perch if they fall off!

Kelly’s research work took four years to complete and it is hoped that the new information arising from the PhD will help river managers find a compromise between managing rivers for flood control and for maintaining and maximising biodiversity.


Luxuriant growth of Ranunculus calcareous in flower on the River Frome.

March Update

The whole of the Ecology Unit spent a week at Carnoustie, undertaking a full Environmental Assessment of the three courses (Championship, Burnside and Buddon).  These plans differ from standard Ecological Management Plans in that much more emphasis is put on other environmental issues such as waste management, energy efficiency, pesticides/fuel storage and water management.  During our time on site, a pre-Open assessment of the Championship course was carried out in order to deal with any ecological and environmental sensitivities, well in advance of the Open Championships in July.


Bob and Lee at the Innovation and Technology Working Group Meeting 

Immediately following their time at Carnoustie, Bob and Lee flew out to Basel in Switzerland for a four day meeting of the newly established Golf Environment Europe programme (www.golfenvironmenteurope.org), both Lee and Bob sit on the European Forum for Sustainable Golf (the Technical Steering Group for Golf Environment Europe).  Lee also chairs the Innovation and Technology Network which aims to provide easy to use technical information to golf facility managers, on a host of environmental topics and breakthroughs in environmental technologies relevant to the golf industry.  STRI are heavily involved with the Golf Environment Europe programme with Gordon McKillop also sitting on the Board of Trustees.  GEE has recently been established by Jonathon Smith (formerly of Scottish Golf Environment Group) and fulfils the void left by the now disbanded Committed to Green programme.  A Europe wide accreditation is in the latter stages of discussion at present and will be launched at some point later in the year. 
We will keep you updated via these pages on progress.


Lee Penrose discusses the establishment and set up of the new course at Renaissance with designers Tom Doak and Don Placek and course manager Paul Seago

After popping home briefly (one night) to see their respective families, Lee and Bob immediately headed up to the newly constructed Renaissance Club at Archerfield for an architectural/agronomic/ecological master planning session.  The unit have been involved in preparing the Management Plans for grow in of the new course, in order that its maximum golfing and ecological objectives are achieved.  This most recent visit involved meetings with Richard Windows (STRI Agronomist to the project) and a one day course walk with the course architect Tom Doak and his associates.  Issues discussed included the appropriate siting/management of rough, tree removal, gorse planting and rough grassland species mixes to be used.  This prestigious development is now maturing rapidly and a project update can be seen via their website at www.trcaa.com.

 
Joint Ecology and Agronomy visit to The Renaissance Club at Archerfield

February Update

February was a month dominated by the provision of Ecological Management Plans for a variety of golf facilities; these included Fairhaven Golf Club in Lytham St. Annes and the newly constructed Renaissance Club at Archerfield on the East Lothian coast. 

Bob Taylor attended the R&A Strategic Meeting held at Fairmont.  All of the Open venues were discussed and time was also set aside to assess performance criteria for Open venues, this was the first time that all of the Open Championship Course Managers, Secretaries and Chairman of Green were assembled under the same roof.


STRI staff at the inaugural R&A meeting of all Open Venue managers.

January Update

2007 promises to be an exciting year for STRI's Ecological and Environmental Services.  January was off to an excellent start with the employment of Kelly Watson STRI's newest full time Environmental Advisor.  Kelly brings considerable expertise in her specialist field of water management.  She has a PHD, gained in investigating the role of larger plants in altering water flow in streams and open water courses.  An in-depth profile of Kelly can be found in April's edition of the International Turf Grass Bulletin and on this website via the following link.
Click Here

In January the Ecology Team joined forces with STRI's Agronomy and Golf Course Architecture Services to undertake a combined assessment and provide advice on the future of the golf course at Wheatley Golf Club.  Using a combination of STRI's services in this fashion ensures that the club receives value for money and a much more structured and directed approach to course management.

The English Golf Environmental Advisory Service provided through STRI in conjunction with the English Golf Union, Natural England and the R&A is still going strong, even in the depths of winter and the team visited several golf facilities throughout England in January.

BTME as always dominates the end of January, with several STRI staff involved in the provision of educational workshops and other training.  Lee Penrose ran a one day workshop on the key environmental issues affecting golf which was well attended with positive feedback received.