Domain Niederreutin part of the “insect-friendly municipality”
Creating flowering areas and designing meadows – both are now almost part of the standard repertoire in German golf courses. Comparatively rare, however, has been the integration of golf courses into municipal or regional projects, which ultimately also mean support for the golf club on several levels.
Financial support for the golf course
With the project “Insect-friendly community“, the GC Domain Niederreutin shows how cooperation with authorities or associations results in significant added value for everyone involved. With an area of around 110 hectares, the golf course with 27 holes, which belongs to the Hofkammer Golf association and takes part in the golf course habitat project of the Baden-Württemberg Golf Association, is predestined for the creation of meadows that can ensure more biodiversity. In 2021, for the first time, we will be involved in the “Insect-Friendly Municipality” campaign, which in turn is part of the LEADER Heckengäu European funding project.
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The club received first-class support in terms of sowing, seed selection, mowing and care from biodiversity expert Philipp Unterweger, who examined the golf course and then developed a plan for the development of a further 6861 m² of high-quality meadows. His conclusion: “Many meadows here are already very species-rich and are obviously optimally cared for. (…) On some areas it also makes sense to sow local seed.”
Win-win situation for community and golf course
The golf course, which was certified gold as part of the German Golf Association’s “Golf and Nature” project, also received the seeds for this as part of the project. The project funds also cover seedbed preparation and sowing, information boards, information flyers and information and training events. For managing director Markus Eblen , this is a pretty ideal form of cooperation, since the club gains a lot of expertise without major costs, can upgrade its areas and at the same time better exploit the potential of the facility for more biodiversity. Added to this is the integration of the golf course into the overall communication of the project.
After this is managed by both the Böblingen Landscape Conservation Association and the Böblingen District Office and is carried out not only in the Bondorf community but also in other communities, the golf club becomes part of a larger communication campaign. At the same time, the municipality of Bondorf benefits from the fact that the golf course, which actually uses less than 60 percent of its area for golf, has enormous potential for the creation of high-quality meadows.
