Creating BioIslands for Ecological Golf Courses, Parks and Commons
EcoSystems Design Inc. offers design, consultation, management plans and employee training in the creation of BioIslands - planned natural landscapes that provide constructed habitat for wildlife. Our designs are informed by our ten years experience with the Roaring Fork Club in Basalt, Colorado. Click here to visit our Ecological Golf Course photo gallery. At EcoSystems Design, we can help you achieve your project’s environmental goals by: Designing a network of BioIslands (pockets of ecologically diverse landscape which reduce the need for herbicides and pesticides) throughout the parks, commons, golf courses and the residential areas. Using plants that are mostly native to your bioregion. Setting up a comprehensive Integrated Pest Management program. Creating an Environmentally-Friendly Best Management operations manual. Training management staff to employ organic and chemical maintenance systems in a complementary way. Training maintenance staff in the hands-on techniques of an organic program. Helping you to take steps to achieve Audubon certification. The BioIsland Concept “BioIslands” are biocide-free, intentionally designed landscapes that are aesthetically pleasing, while also providing shelter, food and habitat for myriad beneficial insects, frogs and other small animals. In turn, the wildlife feed on pests, thereby reducing the need for pesticides throughout the area. Additionally, BioIslands reduce over-all landscape water consumption, prevent and control erosion and improve soil fertility. In natural ecosystems marked by species diversity and interdependence, a continuously evolving balance enables the system as a whole to remain healthy. However, in constructed ecosystems such as farms and golf courses, this harmony is disturbed and the systems become out-of-balance. Pest insects and invasive weeds proliferate, often causing many problems. Our industrial-age solution has been to “control” these problems with chemicals. Unfortunately, these chemicals create new problems that are even bigger and more complex. BioIslands, like age-old hedgerows, help to naturally control these pest and weed problems. These “islands” of relatively undisturbed landscape are designed to attract beneficial insect and animal species; control pest insects on turf grass and throughout development; reduce overall water consumption and the need for toxic chemicals; increase fertility and biological activity in soils; and add aesthetic value to golf courses. BioIslands are strategically placed, sustainable, organic habitats that provide numerous benefits without interfering with the function of public parks and commons or the playability of golf courses. In deveoping a BioIsland, wildflowers, shrubs and trees are planted which again, attract hungry, beneficial wildlife. These beneficial species, in turn, reduce the need for pesticides, herbicides and fungicides in numerous ways. For example, several species of safe, miniature wasps, attack the eggs of the cutworm moth and twenty other caterpillar pests; dragon flies, bats, swallows, and gambusia fish control mosquitoes; selected weevils eat thistles; tiny mycorrhiza in the soil attack soil pathogens. At the same time, nitrogen-fixing plants naturally fertilize neighboring plants. The BioIsland philosophy is to use organic alternatives first and chemicals only as a last resort. Read more about the BioIslands at the Roaring Fork Club The Benefits of Environmentally Friendly Design Improved public relations. Environmentally friendly golf courses and parks have significant public relations advantages. Especially in regards to golf courses, they provide marketing differentiation among the new generation of environmentally conscious golfers. The Roaring Fork Club received a huge amount of publicity for the environmental quality of their golf course. The buyers love it and the community loves it too. Lower long term costs. Overall costs are approximately the same in the short term, but lower in the long term as the BioIslands mature. Enhanced beauty. One of the most common comments about the BioIslands at the Roaring Fork Club is how beautiful they are. Many people appreciate the natural look and feel of a golf course teeming with wildlife. Reduced liability. Liability is an area of increasing concern for golf course owners. An employee accidentally exposed to a large dose of chemicals or repeatedly exposed to many small doses could become sick and rightfully blame the owners of the golf course; a golfer entering a toxic area too soon after the application of chemicals could land in the hospital, resulting in a lawsuit; informed, concerned, and reactive citizens could sue the golf course owners for contamination of community ground water supplies. The possibility of litigation associated with dangerous exposure to toxic chemicals is high and rising. By using an organic maintenance program, vulnerability to law suits is significantly reduced. Reduced health risks. By reducing the use of chemicals on the golf course, exposure of golfers, staff and maintenance crew to toxic pesticides and herbicides is minimized. Also minimized is the possibility of major, accidental chemical exposure. The life expectancy of people who work on golf courses, like farmers, is considerably below the national average. This is due to a consistent intake of chemicals by the body over many years. The incidence of cancers, lupus and other chemically related diseases is much higher in these occupations. Water conservation. All water conservation strategies will help to slow the depletion of this precious resource as well as provide a buffer of protection should drought conditions become a problem. BioIslands require much less water to maintain than traditional landscaping. As the BioIslands mature, their extensive root systems, and biologically rich soils act as large underground reservoirs, storing water that would normally be lost as run-off. They also serve as sponges, or buffer zones, during flash flood conditions. Reduced water contamination. By using organic methods the larger community will be receiving less surface and ground water contaminants from golf course chemicals. Community education. A high-profile, well-promoted environmentally friendly project of this size can have a very positive ecological ripple effect in the community. An educational outreach program for a local environmental program or local schools becomes a natural extension of the Audubon certification requirements. Increased resiliency. BioIslands and edible landscaping can help to offset the potential problems of adverse climate changes. By selecting the hardiest plants and placing them in self-reliant plant communities, building healthier soils that support biological activity, using mulches or living ground covers to protect soils and conserve water, and designing using plant diversity we can help provide strength and resiliency to the landscape and turf to ride out difficult times. Such a landscape will be more resistant to attacks by insects and related diseases. Contributes to Audubon certification. By following the recommendations contained in consulting reports from our office, you will meet many of the requirements for Audubon certification.Golf%20Course%20Gallery.htmlBlog/9EC60CF5-7279-4EAC-A228-6995D159C771.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1
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