Conservation & Ecology
A compelling case for letting Mother Nature take its course, as provided by the man in the know!
These Glossy Ibis graced Old Links Golf Course during September 2013. Normally to be found in the Mediterranean, these birds are predicted to colonise the UK due to the warming climate
each smaller portion of heath more vulnerable to damage and, as well as being important for plants, heathland is important for a wide variety of insects, small mammals and birds. The recently published State of Nature Report for 2012 highlights the effects of this habitat loss and reveals a depressing state of affairs regarding our natural heritage. It shows that, since agricultural intensification, a staggering 60% of all our wildlife is now in decline, with 34% showing a strong decline. Some of these species are considered to be “critically endangered” and have an extremely high risk of becoming extinct within the UK.
The report also concludes that 72% of the UK’s butterfly species had decreased over the previous ten years, that the UK has lost in the region of 44 million breeding birds since the late 1960s, that, in sixteen counties, one plant species became extinct every other year and highlighted the decline of hedgehogs and the ongoing loss of red squirrels. However, it is not all bad news as some species have stabilised after declines during the second half of the 20th Century. There is even evidence that some species are starting to recover due to conservation measures practised today, although there is some way to go before they return to their earlier levels. Golf and the environment go hand in hand; after all, each course is a large portion of land that integrates the game into local physical environment. With c3,000 existing golf
courses within the UK, these portions of land add up to quite a sizeable chunk of our environment. Golf courses average between fifty and sixty hectares in size, meaning that, in total, they occupy about 0.6% of the land area of Britain. This is quite significant as it is more than the total occupied by RSPB reserves, country parks and local nature reserves.
Every golf course consists of highly maintained turf, but it is the non-playing areas that are of interest here as they represent a significant amount of land that can be used for nature conservation purposes. These areas generally represent between 25% and 40% of the total area of the course and, through good environmental stewardship, can be managed to offset the damage done to our environment through habitat destruction.
This is why I believe that golf is a unique industry whereby we manage the countryside, so to speak, and enhance the habitats within it to provide the best possible golfing experience. No other industry, except for maybe the management of nature reserves, needs to work to preserve the habitats we have; in fact, other industries are normally involved with its destruction. The work greenkeepers now do for nature is, therefore, extremely important and sustainability is becoming more comprehensively integrated into all golf course operations, twenty-one years after the Rio Earth Summit.
Images ©Antony Wainwright
GOD: Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there on the planet? What happened to the dandelions, clover, daises and stuff I started centuries ago? I had a perfect no-maintenance plan for meadows. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast 'garden' of colours by now. But, all I see are these green ovals and greener rectangles.
St. FRANCIS: It’s the tribes that settled there, Lord, the ‘Cricketers’. They started calling your flowers ‘weeds’ and go to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.
GOD: Grass? But, it’s so boring. It’s just one colour. It doesn’t attract butterflies, birds and bees; only grubs and worms. It’s sensitive to temperature and disease. Do these ‘Cricketers’ really want all that grass growing there?
ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They even employ people called ‘Groundsmen’ to keep and maintain it. They begin each spring by fertilising the grass, rolling and scarifying and poisoning any other ‘unwanted’ plant that crop up in the sward. They even put down stuff to supress worms.
GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make these groundsmen very happy.
ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it- often many times a week.
GOD: They cut it? Do they then bale it, like hay?
ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them put it carts or bags.
GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?
ST. FRANCIS: No, Sir, just the opposite. They put it in heaps to rot.
GOD: Now, let me get this straight. They fertilise grass so it will grow. And, when it does grow, they cut it off and throw it away?
ST. FRANCIS: Yes, Sir.
GOD: These groundsmen must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.
ST. FRANCIS: You aren’t going to believe this, Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to
water it, so they can continue to mow it and then have to get rid of the ‘cuttings’.
GOD: But do they do anything productive on these well-tended areas of grass, like grazing sheep?
ST. FRANCIS: No Lord, but people in white clothing run about on it, particularly up and down a strip that these ground people have spent all week cutting and flattening, making a mess of it with their spiked shoes.
GOD: Can’t see the point of that! Would be better if they did a proper job and dug it up and planted seed?
ST. FRANCIS: Oh, they do at the end of summer. These humans appear to take great delight in tending these prized areas. They make the soil all loose again after spending the previous six months compressing it. They bring in bags of clay and spread it on, when we all know clay is not good for growing and draining.
GOD: What nonsense. At least they will have kept the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn, they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. It's a natural cycle of life.
ST. FRANCIS: You’d better sit down, Lord. These Grounds type people have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and burn them or put them on the rotting grass cuttings pile.
GOD: No? What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter to keep the soil moist and loose?
ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. They spread it around in place of the leaves.
GOD: And where do they get this mulch?
ST. FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.
GOD: Enough! I don’t want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you’re in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?
ST. CATHERINE: ‘Dumb and Dumber’, Lord. It’s a story about ...
GOD: Never mind, I think I’ve just heard the whole story from St. Francis.
Thanks to Cricket11 for posting this on our message board
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014 PC 109
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