CONSERVATION & ECOLOGY


Some visitors say this part of the site looks untidy, but the key is to understand woodland management and, within such a natural setting, wood anemone, red campion and bluebells thrive


”


improved the greens, whilst garlic helps stop crows and magpies pecking for leatherjackets, but its effect usually only lasts for up to a week and a half,” he continues. The public encroaching on the course creates another potential irritation. “They aren’t supposed to, but we don’t tend to comment about it,” Alan says diplomatically.


“The course suffered from a lot of disease and still sees outbreaks, usually fusarium in October, because we are a parkland course and airflow can be limited, but things have improved.” Less fertiliser and more physical work on the greens is his preferred method. Alan and the team aren’t home free yet though. “The 4th and 9th greens suffer the worst from winter waterlogging, so we’ve have asked ALS Contractors to sand band them later this year.” The course is well-bunkered (30) for a 9-


hole. The team repairs edging every three weeks, raking bunkers several times a


week.


The grounds team has to be mindful of its environmental responsibilities across the nine holes, especially given Warley Woods national standing.


“For the Green Flag assessments we have a walkaround,” Alan explains, “when two judges check the condition of the greens and discuss the park and its management strategy.”


The environmental management plan continues apace, but it’s still early days, Alan says. “There’s the wildflower meadow coming up and we also want to develop open scrapes to attract a wider diversity of insects.”


Open for business after lockdown lifted,


Warley Woods’ maintains site safety, its Covid measures still in place to protect golfers. “We turn hole cups upside down, advise against touching flags and have removed bins from the course." To limit risk of cross-contamination


amongst the grounds team, Alan and Darryl use only two of their four Toro mowers - the rotary and rough - and one of the two Workman utility vehicles, manicuring the park grass to a fairway height of 17mm. Tackling thirty acres of grass is no mean feat and it’s mowed regularly to boot. “The two of us manage it in about six and a half hours, plus another couple of hours to complete the Rose Garden with the rough mower.” Tending a further thirty acres of woodland


keeps the team busy too. ”I call in contractors sometimes to handle tree work high up,” Alan explains. Daily play area inspections and park safety checks, replacing benches and planting trees is all in a day’s work.


Woodland management


“This is a landscape full of trees,” Viv adds, “and, under the woodland management plan, we are raising the quantity of


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PC August/September 2020


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