St. Marys Golf & Country Club

The natural scenery of the Trout Creek valley is one of the golf course’s biggest assets. As stewards of this property, we strive to protect the animals, birds and plants of this asset with the following environmental program.

1. We allow the grass to grow longer in unused areas.  This has a number of positive benefits:
• Fuel is not required to cut it
• Fertilizers and pesticides are not needed to keep it green
• No watering is needed - it just grows naturally
• The long grass provides a natural shelter for small animals, such as mice and rabbits

2. We allow dead trees to remain and if they fall, leave them where they lie, where possible. They provide:

• Natural homes for songbirds such as Nut Hatches, Robins, Finches and Woodpeckers
• Shelter for small woodland animals, rodents, and coyotes 

3. We are extremely careful around all our water sources:

• Mechanical and groundwork around the ponds is limited
• Long grasses are allowed to grow along the banks, which not only collect and filter run-off, but provides shelter for small aquatic animals, and discourages too many Canada Geese
• We try not to remove trees along water’s edge or banks. Trees provide shade, regulating water temperature, which encourages fish to stay, feed and spawn
• All the ponds have a good stock of different fish species and have become a favourite nesting spot for blue herons

4. Our machinery is designed to be as turf friendly as possible:

• Cutting equipment is checked daily to ensure clean cuts
• Engines are maintained regularly to lessen emissions
• Tires are big and soft to minimize surface impact on grasses

5. We are replanting and moving trees helps keep St. Marys Golf Course a ‘walk in the park’:

• Hundreds of trees have been moved onto the golf course over the past 20 years
• Along holes 4 and 5 over 1000 seedlings were planted 10 years ago and now have grown to the point where they may now be moved onto the course when needed 

6. We control the use of fertilizers and pesticides:

• Fertilizers and pesticides are being used in much more exacting amounts, and those used are the most recent developments in environmental friendliness.
• They can be applied at much smaller rates, and last longer.
• Neither is used near any water, including streams, the creek, or ponds
• The irrigation system is not used to deliver fertilizers or pesticides. Mechanical and hand application is specifically controlled on an as needed basis.

St. Marys Golf & Country Club is a fully-registered member of the Golf Course Program with the Ontario Integrated Pest Management Accreditation Program, part of the IPM Council of Canada.  We are committed to use all strategies made available to us to help aid in the reduction of pesticides on our property.

To see more about the IPM programs and requirements, you can visit:  http://www.ontarioipm.com

To see our latest submission to the IPM accreditation program, click here.