Golf club earns environmental certification
August 5, 2010
By Staff
Audubon International named The Golf Club at Newcastle a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. The designation stemmed from the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses.
Scott Phelps (right), head superintendent at The Golf Club at Newcastle, works with a local Girl Scout on the golf course grounds in March, teaching the essentials of gardening. Contributed
The Golf Club, a member of the Oki Golf group of golf courses across the state, is now the 12th golf course in the state to receive environmental certification from Audubon, and the 773rd course in the world to do so.
Some courses take as long as three years to receive the certification, but The Golf Club completed the task in a year and a half. In the process of obtaining certification, it was required to undergo a comprehensive site assessment and create an environmental plan.
“The Golf Club at Newcastle has shown a strong commitment to its environmental program,” Audubon International ecologist Jim Sluiter said in a press release. “They are to be commended for their efforts to provide a sanctuary for wildlife on the golf course property.”
Now that The Golf Club has received its certification, it must comply with Audubon’s standards for environmental planning; wildlife and habitat management; outreach and education; chemical use reduction and safety; water conservation; and water quality management. It must also be recertified every two years.
“Protecting the environment is very important to me,” The Golf Club at Newcastle Head Superintendent Scott Phelps said in a press release. “The first degree I received was based on wildlife management, because I love the outdoors and have a true passion for protecting the planet.”
While working toward environmental certification, The Golf Club opened the course for three days, allowing members of the public to visit the grounds and see superintendents and volunteers help work toward certification. Among those who volunteered were members of Boy Scout Troop 499 and Girl Scout Troop 41564.
The Boy Scouts helped build 30 birdhouses, and the Girl Scouts helped plant a bee, butterfly and hummingbird garden.
The Golf Club at Newcastle is 350 acres and boasts 22 acres of native grassland, 12.5 acres of freshwater wetlands, ponds and lakes, and an additional 102 acres of undisturbed areas that include shrubs, as well as mixed grasslands and forests.
The Eastside Audubon Society has conducted monthly bird species surveys, and it cataloged 62 different species of birds, including bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, hummingbirds, quails and great blue herons at The Golf Club.
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In a former life as a superintendent, we were going through the process of getting certified. AND IT IS A PROCESS.
Bravo, to the The Golf Club. More courses should undertake this process.
And now running a marketing company working in the golf industry still. Great to see The Golf Club get some press out of this as well.
the golf courses in our area have very green and very healthy lawn area that everyone adores:’,