It’s a first in England: for the first time, a nature conservation organization is creating a position for an ecologist to work on golf courses, and a group of golf courses is contributing to the funding. The project is called the Greener Golf 2025 Nature Recovery Pilot Project. The partners are the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust and the Greener Golf Network from Leicestershire.
Their shared history began in September 2021, when a few idealists organized the first Greener Golf Network conference. The CEO of the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust gave the opening speech. Since then, the Greener Golf Network has grown. The network provides one of those stories of people in golf who firmly believe that with commitment, they will create enthusiasm in other golfers for conservation and nature; they are convinced that golf works as a community.
The Greener Golf Network recently held its fifth conference. 21 golf courses were represented, along with representatives from water companies, England Golf, the RSPB and the industry. What binds these club representatives together is how they can all manage their resources better and positively contribute to the environment.
On April 14, 2025, they will come a lot closer to answering this question when Dr. Hannah Sellers, who has just received her doctorate in ecology, starts work as a senior manager for the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. Her position is funded by the Trust itself and 14 Leicestershire golf clubs, who have recognized that practical work on sustainability will ultimately secure the future of golf courses. “This is a real vote of confidence in us from the Wildlife Trust,” says Bob Roberts, one of the initiators of the Greener Golf Network and Chairman of the Board of Directors. “They bear the majority of the cost of the position.”
For the golf courses, this cooperation also represents the culmination of their development for the time being. “We had contact with the Wildlife Trust from the beginning, but we realized that we wanted more than just an individual exchange with employees,” says Roberts. “We wanted a collaborative approach with a long-term strategy.” As the contact person for the 14 clubs, ecologist Sellers will now provide information on funding and deliver important input on topics such as biodiversity, water and energy conservation.
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The cooperation, which is unique in this form in the UK, could serve as a model. A group of clubs and golf course operators are handing over responsibility for an issue to an external environmental organization and pay for it. It clears the way for independent assessment, perhaps even critical comments. At the same time, however, it also opens up opportunities for the golf group because it obtains outside expertise and can learn from it. On the other hand, the environmental protection organization can use its expertise to influence the development of enormously large areas positively.
If the Greener Golf 2025 Nature Recovery Pilot Project succeeds, it could lead to similar projects. The project is also interesting because it has not been transferred to the golf clubs by an association or a national representative body but has arisen from the commitment of the golf courses themselves – a grassroots project that sets standards.
