Subscribe to trusted local news
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
28
May
Knaresborough Golf Club aims to attract bees as well as birdies
Knaresborough Golf Club has completed a wildlife project to encourage nature to flourish on its course.
A beehive, bug hotels, hedgehog shelters and wildflower meadows have been added to the course.
The club worked in partnership with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust on the initiative.
A wildlife noticeboard, which overlooks the 11th green, has been created in the style of those used at the trust's nature reserves alerting golfers to the increase in wild plant and animal species.
Laura Harman, a wildlife officer at the trust, unveiled the board last Tuesday (May 20) to mark the completion of the project
Three bug hotels have been installed on the premises.
The Stray Ferret spoke to Mike McKay, former captain and president of the golf club and chair of the club’s sustainability advisory group, to find out more about the initiative.
He said:
We’ve been aware of the need for about four years. Like many golf clubs across the country, we’re being encouraged by England Golf to up our game with biodiversity.
We’ve been working for about three years to pinpoint where the club can make advances, whilst always taking care to strike a balance with it being a golf course.
The green staff have been really ahead of the game with it.
Mr McKay said that the aim was to attract more animals and birds, such as swifts. He said peacocks, hares and the occasional deer currently appear on the course.
A resident peacock sunbathes amongst the club's sculpted animals, by Jonathan Sherwood.
Impact on golfers
We asked Mr McKay if the project would affect golfers.
He said:
We don’t think it’s going to disrupt the golfers, and we don’t think the golfers are going to disrupt the wildlife.
We haven’t put any of the new habitats near the fairways. They’re all deep into the rough and should be out of the way.
We hope it will make golfers more conscious of the biodiversity we have here. It’s not uncommon for the hares to wander across the fairway, and we probably see more peacocks in the bunkers than golf balls! It’s important for us to show the wildlife that this is a welcoming place for them.
The average speed of a driven golf ball is around 150 miles per hour so is it not be dangerous for the animals?
Mr McKay emphasised that the man-made habitats have been constructed well out of the way of the fairways. He added that structures such as the hedgehog shelter are protected by logs.
Although many courses across the UK have completed similar projects in recent years, Mr McKay said Knaresborough was the only one to have worked with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust on a project like this.
0