An Eco-Friendly Club is ‘The Right Thing to Do’

As part of its pursuit of Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program certification, The Berkshire Country Club in Reading, Pa. built and installed bat boxes and bluebird boxes in native areas with the aid of the local Boys & Girls Clubs.

Like his peers, Justin Miller, Golf Course Superintendent at The Berkshire Country Club in Reading, Pa., believes that any property that doesn’t take care of its golf course with eco-friendly inputs is virtually committing maintenance malpractice.

To support his view, he brought up the idea of pursuing Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program certification when he joined the staff at The Berkshire 18 months ago.

“We need to be thinking about the environment,” Miller says. “Not only does it look good, but it’s the right thing to do.”

To become eligible for ACSP designation, a golf course must implement and document environmental management practices in six areas – environmental planning, wildlife and habitat management, chemical use reduction and safety, water conservation, water quality management, and outreach and education.

The Berkshire submitted its environmental assessments this past winter, and currently the property is collecting the data and materials it needs to pursue certification.

General Manager Paul Bovenzi, COO, anticipates that the property will have enough data to submit for the next steps once the golf season ends in the fall.

“It’s a point of pride for our team that they’re making a positive environmental impact, but it’s also a point of pride for our membership,” says Bovenzi. “They’re excited to see wildlife. This is a sanctuary for them. When you see native wildlife, you feel like you’re somewhere special.”

About a year ago, the property, with the aid of the local Boys & Girls Clubs, built and installed bat boxes and bluebird boxes in native areas. Staff members also found a bee’s nest in a tree on the property and had a beekeeper extract the bees from the hive and relocate them into three hives.

The Berkshire staff members need to be trained to manage the beehives, as well, which will enable the property to produce its own honey one day.

“Speaking with members, they’re excited to have the opportunity to have their own locally grown honey,” says Bovenzi.

Along with bluebirds and bats, other wildlife on the property includes deer, a family of red foxes, and bald eagles that nest along the rivers.

In other environmentally friendly efforts, the maintenance staff uses integrated pest management strategies to monitor the threshold for insects and pests. To meet chemical use and safety standards, the grounds crew has reduced its chemical applications and scouts for disease on a daily basis.

“If we do need to spray, then we stay away from environmentally sensitive areas,” Miller says.

Water conservation efforts got underway before Miller arrived at the golf course. In 2015, The Berkshire put in a new irrigation system, which has saved the property millions of gallons of water.

“It allows us to water where we need to water, when we need to water,” says Miller.

When the new irrigation system was installed, the property also started using river water instead of city water. In addition, the grounds crew tests the property’s water quality every year.

In its effort to pursue ACSP certification, The Berkshire staff also has discovered that patience is a virtue because nature has a timetable of its own. Although the birdhouses have full occupancy now, for instance, the birds didn’t flock to them right away.

“When we put the birdhouses and the bat boxes up, we thought there would be immediate occupancy. That took longer than I thought,” says Bovenzi. “It took a year for the birds and bats to inhabit the boxes.”

As part of the outreach and education component, The Berkshire holds an annual event with the local Boys & Girls Clubs. The property plans to reach out to other community groups to get involved as well.

Environmentally friendly efforts also have extended to other areas of operation at The Berkshire. The property has a recycling program and an onsite garden where culinary staff members grow their own vegetables and herbs.

“We prepare the garden every year for them, and the culinary team takes care of the harvesting and day-to-day operations,” says Miller. “They couldn’t do that without safe, clean soils to grow the products.” 

He hopes that the golf course will be fully ACSP-certified in the next one or two years.

The Goal: The Berkshire CC is endeavoring to be a good environmental steward as it pursues Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program certification.

The Plan: The property has submitted environmental assessments and is collecting the data and materials it needs to pursue Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary certification, which it hopes to achieve in the next couple of years.

The Payoff: The membership and the maintenance staff have taken great pride in their efforts to have a positive effect on the environment.