Golf can bee good for bumblebees

Guest blog by Marie Athorn, RSPB Business Conservation Advisor

Hello! I’m Marie Athorn, I am the face of a partnership between the RSPB and The Royal and Ancient (R&A), one of the governing bodies of golf.

The partnership started in 2020 and was formed to provide advice on habitat creation and management, as well as nature-friendly practices, to golf clubs across the UK. One of the aims of the partnership is to produce material that greenkeepers, golf course managers, and anyone in the golf industry can use to help nature on their golf courses. I’m writing this guest blog today because Bumblebee Conservation Trust stepped up almost immediately with an interest in producing a factsheet that provides specific advice to golf clubs. I hope that greenkeepers, course managers and anyone else in the golf industry find this as useful as I find it exciting that this piece of work is finally out there for all of you to use!

Durness Golf Course. Credit: Alastair Morrison

Landscapes for nature

Golf courses can contribute to bumblebee conservation on a landscape scale, not just as a refuge for rare and declining species but also as stepping-stones across an increasingly fragmented landscape. Although most conservation organisations across the UK own and manage nature reserves, all acknowledge that nature will require a wider, connected network to survive and thrive. This means working with other landowners and land managers to create land well managed for nature is essential to nature’s recovery.

With over 3,000 golf courses in the UK, contributing to approximately 126,000 ha of greenspace, golf courses are well placed to help provide for species of conservation concern and provide connectivity between existing priority habitats. My recent presentation for the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) ‘Continue to Learn’ conference also brought together several of the UK’s conservation charities to talk about how golf can contribute to nature conservation, with a few tips thrown in there too!

Easy wins for you and wildlife

Pyecombe Golf Course. Credit: Stephen Milner

Helping bumblebees doesn’t mean turning your green into a wildflower meadow. Take a look at page 2 of the factsheet to see which areas of your golf course could be managed with bumblebees in mind. Why not start with small steps like planting some pollinator-friendly species in your formal planted areas near the clubhouse? Could you alter the management of your hedgerows to support pollinators and birds?

Often a place golf courses start to try and help nature is by creating wildflower areas. One thing to bear in mind is these need not mean planting species or sowing seeds. You may already have an amazing seed bank just below the surface waiting to flourish! And we wouldn’t want you to cover this up by sowing an inappropriate seed mix. So, an easy place to start is to alter the management of areas of long rough or carry areas to allow native wildflowers to flourish. A cut and collect method in early autumn can be hugely beneficial. This can save money and time compared to current management too. Native wildflowers often flourish in nutrient-poor soils with little competition from coarse grasses and so management to benefit native wildflowers produces a thin wispy sward, often the same kind of thing golfers want. Just a quick point here, if you do plan to sow wildflower seeds anywhere do make sure to get some expert advice and only sow native, locally sourced seed suitable to the soil your golf course sits on.

North Forelands Golf Course. Credit: Bex Cartwright

Golf courses lending a helping hand

There are already a number of golf courses that have been involved with Bumblebee Conservation Trust projects to support rare and declining species. Lydd Golf Club was part of a landscape-scale project to provide connected habitat for the reintroduction of the Short-haired bumblebee. They also planted a herb garden adjacent to the club house, a splash of colour, a beautiful smell and a feast for pollinators, what’s not to like? Take a look at page 3 of the factsheet for some ideas of plant species that will help bumblebees for those more formal areas of the golf course. From lavenders and thymes to cosmos and sunflowers our guide can help you pick the right plant for the right planting area anywhere on a golf course.

Pyle and Kenfig, recent winners of the Golf Environment Awards, have recorded the rare shrill carder bee during the restoration of the dunes systems that form part of their links course in the south of Wales. Links courses or more naturalised bunkers on inland golf courses managed sympathetically for pollinators can have a huge impact. Bumblebees and other pollinators don’t just need food to survive they also need suitable habitat to nest and hibernate in. The factsheet offers advice on how to provide all the things needed to support bumblebee populations.

Nectar networks

Although not a project to specifically designed to support bumblebees, golf courses along the Ayrshire coast, including Dundonald Links, have teamed up with other landowners to provide 30 miles of nectar-rich habitat for pollinators. A project now known as the Nectar Network, a collaboration with landowners coordinated by Scottish Wildlife Trust. Where golf courses are numerous in the landscape and well connected there is the opportunity for them to work together to provide a continuous corridor for nature of all kinds. Can you work with golf courses in your area and create your own mini nectar network?

Dundonald Golf Course. Credit: Amanda Dorans

Here to help

Sometimes knowing what to do to help nature can be a bit of a minefield. Hopefully, this Bumblebee Conservation Trust factsheet and others soon to be released will help. But getting in touch with a conservation charity can help provide that bit of expertise that starts you in the right direction. If you want some support don’t hesitate to get in touch with me via Twitter or drop an email to conservation-advice@rspb.org.uk.

If you have done any work to support bumblebees, pollinators or any nature for that matter on your golf course, let us know! Tag me on Twitter @marieathorngolf and any bumblebee projects @BumblebeeTrust.

Lastly, I just want to say a big thank you to everyone at Bumblebee Conservation Trust for putting this factsheet together. It’s an incredible resource for the golf industry and really demonstrates a true understanding of the potential for golf to contribute to nature conservation. Special thanks go to Bex Cartwright and Katy Malone for all their input and enthusiasm!

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