CONSERVATION & ECOLOGY
Duncan Brown with wildlife log pile
Conservation Trust has highlighted can support up to 5,000 native species, including 750 species of beetle, and provide a valuable food source for bats and birds. Good hedgerow management has resulted in healthy, species-rich native hedgerows which are thick and attractive to small mammals and breeding birds. Duncan has also provided barn owl boxes across the site, where they can actively make best use of the meadow habitats created. Iestyn views a significant part of his role is to generate the club engagement and support for the ecology initiatives, within the overall context of the course management. “We have to acknowledge that none of the conservation work can be undertaken without the backing and support of the club
and the members.”
“For almost all members, the golf course and its playability remains the main priority. The ecology and environment can add to their experience and enjoyment, but we need to continue to improve the course condition and day-in-day-out playability.” In some instances, he points out that it can go hand in hand, such as thinning rough that encourages fescues and wildflowers, but also improves playability. Clearing large areas of scrub has opened up air flow and allowed in light.
Other projects, such as large scale invasive tree removal, have been potentially more controversial with members, but they are now seeing the benefits in both course design and playability, as well as improved turf health. “It’s given people far greater confidence and trust in what we are planning to do, and has been instrumental in giving us the support to undertake new projects.
“But they also know that - in terms of
greenkeeping priority, time and budget - the needs of the course will always come before the conservation initiatives,” he added. Iestyn believes that the acclaim and recognition for the team’s successes with its
Corhampton Golf Club chalk scrape plant species recommendations For chalk scrapes:
Kidney vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria) Common Bird’s-foot trefoil
(Lotus corniculatus) Wild thyme
(Thymus polytrichus) Scabious spp.
Horseshoe vetch (Hippocrepis comosa)
Guidelines: Sow 80% grass/20% wild flower mix, at a rate of four grams per m2
, increasing to five g/m2 if planted in the spring Source: Butterfly Conservation
Butterfly and moth species identified to potentially benefit from chalk scrape creation at Corhampton Golf Club:
For surrounding grassed areas: Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)
Marjoram (Origanum majorana) Dark Mullein (Verbascum nigrum)
Key target species: Common blue
Small blue Adonis blue Dingy skipper Grizzled skipper Chalk carpet moth Striped lychnis moth
Other species: Meadow brown
Red admiral Brimstone Small white Large white Ringlet
Marbled white Comma
Small heath Source: Butterfly Conservation PC June/July 2019 129
Soil consolidation to retain moisture aids seed germination
conservation work, including the Syngenta Operation Pollinator Award and other local press and publicity, has helped to secure other investment in the course and its maintenance. “We are constantly striving for ways to improve,” he said. “The focus is on drainage and nutrition, for example. Some greens that can stay wet for too long have become poa dominant, so the club is investing in the drainage that can help us to increase the bentgrass content, which will, in turn, give the chance to improve surface quality with better targeted inputs.”
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