As part of the 100 mile-long Weald to Waves nature corridor, The Southwood Foundation has been working with golf clubs along the Ouse, Adur and Arun rivers to explore how nature is being restored on their courses.

Golf courses are not always seen a havens for nature, but clubs in the corridor are doing more than meets the eye to boost wildlife. In response to very worrying drops in wildlife since the 1970s making the UK one of the most nature depleted countries in the world,  golf clubs in and near the Weald to Waves corridor are seizing the opportunity to make a very real difference.

TSF joined forces with Lewes Golf Club to bring together golf clubs in the Sussex corridor to connect and boost what they are doing for nature restoration. The Lewes clubhouse was packed with greenkeepers and club managers from across the area, and conservation organisations including the South Downs National Park, RSPB and Buglife were there to help with support and advice. The major national and county golf institutions attended too, with England Golf calling it an “inspiring and absolutely fantastic day”.

Hosts Lewes Golf Club leave thirty per cent of the course for nature, including turning the rough into extensive wildflower meadows that are so needed for pollinators such as bees and butterflies,  putting in owl boxes, managing the trees and scrub for biodiversity, reducing water use and employing natural solutions for land management which have dramatically cut the need for fertiliser and eradicated the need for pesticides and fungicides.  As a result of the club’s commitment, the course now proudly boasts rare leaf cutting bees, peregrines, red kites, kestrels, a growing number of starlings and even glow worms.

The discussions revealed a strong commitment to taking action for nature in the clubs that attended and an appetite to work together to boost the work already underway. It was a real pleasure to bring so many dedicated greenkeepers and club managers together for the first time to discuss what they are doing in and around the Weald to Waves nature corridor. We hope the seminar helped connect those committed people and reconnect the fragmented landscape for wildlife.

Lewes GC Manager Mandy Quick said she  felt positive about the opportunities the meeting has revealed. “There was a real buzz in the room. It turns out that we are not alone in thinking nature needs our help. Doing right by nature on golf courses is good for the planet and good for the resilience of our sport in the face of climate change. We love a win-win.”