Habitat in lofty heights
Making good use of small areas – golf courses can also do this with green roofs. “We even have the kingfisher on the roofs of our small cabins and some of the driving range buildings,” explains Dieter Worms, founder of the Gut Apeldör golf course in Schleswig-Holstein enthusiastically. In Gut Apeldör, the construction of new smaller buildings or cottages is based on the greening of the roofs with a wide variety of vegetation forms – depending on the location.
Permanent food during the season
Whether it’s a canopy of herbs, grasses or even a small selection of flowers, experts say the birds aren’t deterred by the height of the unusual habitats. On the contrary, green roofs are good for them to fly on. On the roofs they find not only seeds, plants or berries, but also spiders, other insects or microorganisms of all kinds. Ideally, green roofs should be planted with flowering plants that attract insects throughout the season.
Green roofs are becoming increasingly common on golf courses. At GC Großensee, located in Schleswig-Holstein like GC Apeldör, they have provided a habitat on the entire roof of the driving range hut. At GC Wörthsee in Upper Bav aria, the new Stadl, as it is called in Bavarian, is now also adorned with a green roof. “When we were planning, it was clear that we would tackle this right away,” explains Rupert Fischer, who was responsible for the new building on the board. The Upper Bavarian golf club, which like GC Großensee has already been awarded gold several times in the DGV’s Golf & Nature program, is known for its numerous projects to promote biodiversity. If the areas on the ground seem to be exhausted, as the golf courses Großensee, Apeldör and Wörthsee prove, there is still room on the roofs.
Easy installation with mats
In most cases, the installation of green roofs is carried out using so-called vegetation mats. They usually consist of a support layer with coconut fabric or fleece, on which is then applied a substrate layer with rooted plants. Roofs with greenery, however, require a short course of maintenance about once or twice a year. Here, weeds or unwanted plants are then removed. In addition, the green roof is supplied with slow-release fertilizer (no blue grain).
In the best case, the birds feel so comfortable that they even use the roof surfaces for breeding. This also happens quite often, but the slope of the roof should not exceed 15 degrees. If you are lucky, you can also observe mallards, little ringed plovers, crested larks or caribou breeding on the roof. When training from the driving range, this is definitely a view with variety.
