“Environmental sustainability is about more than what we
can do at our course. It’s about encouraging other courses
to emulate our commitment towards making a positive impact.” Justin Timberlake
courses and organisations of all kinds around the world to emulate our commitment towards making a positive impact on the world that we live in.”
HOW THEY DID IT
Early on, sustainability consultants Audubon Environmental were called in to guide Mirimichi through its green improve- ments. One of the fi rst areas addressed by Audubon Environmental, was the maintenance of ‘out of play areas’. “On your average golf course, more than half of the
property is not even used to play golf on,” says Audubon Environmental’s chief technical offi cer Russ Bodie. “A big part of making a course environmentally sustain- able is looking at those out of play areas. At Mirimichi, we were able to eliminate more than 100 acres of turf grass on the out of playing areas and replace it with native grasses that require much less maintenance, fertiliser and water. These areas have been planted with wildfl owers and thou- sands of trees and shrubs native to west Tennessee, and are now managed as natural habitats.” These areas can be used as habitats for resident animals and as safe corridors for animals to move across the course, Bodie adds. A new irrigation system helps further reduce water con- sumption. The Rain Bird ‘Smart Pump’ software links the pump station to the central irrigation control, which meas- ures on-site rainfall and automatically reduces the amount
ISSUE 1 2011 © cybertrek 2011
of water dispensed in line with the amount of rainfall. The issue of pesticides and chemicals is always a thorny
one for operators of golf courses, and it’s one that Mirimichi took very seriously when planning the course. Integrated pest management techniques are used at the course – a sustainable approach to managing pests which focuses on methods that have the least impact on the envi- ronment. “Using a chemical is the last resort,” says Bodie. “The most important aspect of managing a golf course so that it has very little environmental impact is a focus on keeping what you need to do to the grass to the playing surface, he continues. “It’s important to put out the right amount and type of fertiliser so that it stays on the playing surface and doesn’t wash into ponds or nearby streams.” The chemicals and fertilisers used at Mirimichi come from a selected list that has gone through a risk assessment process, Bodie adds, and organic and natural materials are used where possible – walnut extract, for example, is used to control pests in some areas of the course. Protecting the water bodies on the site was also a big focus for the team at Mirimichi. “We looked at it from the perspective that every pond is a frog’s home,” says Bodie. “It’s not just an area that you drain all the bad water into.” Measures to protect the site’s ponds and rivers include draining the course so that the water is infi ltrated into the course rather than running into the pond. Native aquatic
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 37
GOLF COURSE PHOTOS: AIDAN BRADLEY
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