For the past five years a small team of volunteers at Market Harborough Golf Club have, with the support of the club’s board of directors, been following a series of environmental policies and projects ranging from single use plastics and recycling, to LED lighting and on course environmental enhancements.
Slow worms are neither worms nor, in fact snakes, but a small genus of snake-like legless lizards in the family Anguidae. Its identity is given away by its abilities and blink with its eyelids.
The Hornet Moth (Sesia apiformis) is the largest of our region’s clearwing moths and also one of the rarest. There are currently only seven known colonies within the East Midlands (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Rutland).
As with many clubs, Ullesthorpe Court GC has experienced much badger damage in the last few years, particularly on and around our greens. A couple of methods were attempted, using sprays and smells, but with no success.
UPDATED JANUARY 2023: There’s a new Head Greenkeeper at Glen Gorse Golf Club: James Burberry, a passionate wildlife enthusiast, is working with the help of key members like Alan Herbert, on initiatives to benefit nature. The first, and the more unusual, is a project to restore and expand habitats for a local newt population.
MAPPING AND IDENTIFYING TREES FOR REMOVAL
As part of a larger project for Sleaford Golf Club, we obtained planning permission on an old barn on the course that served no purpose. This will give the club much needed funds to take it forward. However, the barn itself had resident barn owls and as part of the planning conditions we had to make provision for a replacement home.
We started composting about 10 years ago when I suddenly realised that the ‘green waste’ top dressing that I was buying in for our weak fairways was something we could produce on site.
To complement the wide range of activities we can offer at GVGC, and because of the BIRD FAIR held annually at Rutland water (no longer!), we set about building a couple of bird hides and a floating island. We mapped out a walk for our hotel guests to enjoy some of the wildlife we attract at our golf course.
After a number of attempts to secure a delivery of trees, we were grateful to receive a box of “whips” from the Woodland Trust – 100 plus plugs tied in bundles of 10/15. An interesting point to make here is that a “whip” can be anything from 1ft (30cm) to 3ft (90cm).