First awards as “blossoming golf course” in spring
The first awards for “blooming golf courses” were given to golf courses in Bavaria who signed up for Blühpakt Bayern in 2020. The visits of the State Association for Bird Protection at the golf courses have been so successful, that the clubs will receive the award in spring after the planned ceremony had to be postponed at the beginning of October due to the increasing corona numbers. This affects around a third of the 16 golf courses that have currently decided to cooperate with the Bavarian Ministry of the Environment and have since consulted with the State Association for Bird Protection.
The clubs realized, that small improvements to details are always possible, even if you have already been certified with the gold award at the German project ” Golf & Natur “. At GC Abenberg, for example, where the club’s golf & nature team met with representatives of the LBV in mid-September, there are now plans to promote open areas of heath more intensively in the future, or enlarge meadows as wintering sites for insects. Open sand and gravel areas are to be created as important habitats not only for wild bees, and deadwood areas are to be enlarged. Another cairn at the edge of the golf course is also being considered.
Important for all measures: communication. In order to explain to the members, why parts of the meadows are not mowed over the winter, further information boards are absolutely necessary. After all, the golfer on site should understand the meaning and purpose of the cooperation.
The Abenberg Golf Club is not the only club that benefits from expert knowledge. As part of the “Blühpakt Bayern”, the Bavarian Golf Association and the Bavarian Ministry of the Environment are making a total of 20.000 euros available, so that clubs can request specialist advice on their course. After a joint inspection, the club receives a small map free of charge as well as extensive tips and recommendations. on how the golf course can contribute even better to protecting insects.
That is the actual goal of the “Blühpakt Bayern”, which the Bavarian Golf Association joined as the first sports association: The initiative of the Ministry of the Environment is intended to help stop the decline of insects and increase their habitats. Golf courses are particularly suitable for this, since only a small part of the area is really intensively cultivated. In Bavaria, around 200 golf courses cover around 10.000 hectares, only around a quarter of which is actually used for golfing.
The prerequisite for participation in the “Bavarian Blühpakt” is the fulfilment of a few minimum criteria, but participation in the project “Golf & Nature” has not to be included. The application for the “Blooming Golf Course” award is made via the website www.bluehpakt.bayern.de .
Photo: Stefan von Stengel
