Bee the Change - An Earth Day 2021 Special Report
Throughout the history of the environmental movement a powerful quotation (attributed1 to Mahatma Ghandi) has been used to appeal to the individual responsibility each of us has in the protection of our planet.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
But on this 52nd Earth Day a change we are seeing in the world is with the bees, and unfortunately it is not a positive one. Honeybees and other pollinators are being lost at alarming rates2 and this should be frightening for all of us, as our agricultural system is built on the backs of these fuzzy little creatures. At least 35% of the food we eat3 is directly dependent on the pollination services of bees, and so it is not surprising that the Earthwatch Institute has concluded that “bees…are the most important living beings on this planet”4. Not only are bees a critical component of our food system, but they are also classified as an indicator species5, which is a species whose health serves as a measure of the underlying conditions of an ecosystem.
Changing Perspective
The public perspective of golf is often negative with regard to its environmental impact, whether it is justified or not. The truth of the matter is that golf course management has generally had plenty of negative impacts on the environment and negative interactions with environmental advocates to justify some of those public beliefs. However not all golf courses are alike, with some courses leading the way in sustainability efforts, like Goat Hill Park in Oceanside, CA and their adoption and support of thriving pollinator program, growing wildflowers in out-of-play areas and creating an apiary to host many of the bee colonies that make Goat Hill their home.
Golf’s New Golden Age: the Sustainability Era
Golf has entered into a new era of precision management and the adoption of best management practices6 that contain many important sustainability and environmental stewardship efforts. Ultimately, changing golf’s narrative from one of negative environmental impacts to one of environmental stewardship and valuable land use relies on the industry’s ability to objectively demonstrate and quantify its net positive impact. In order to prosper in the future, the golf industry desperately needs tools to show that the practices and operations of a golf facility have changed to have positive environmental benefits. The bees are that change.
The Complicated Math of Sustainability
Calculating the sustainability of each action or decision is the challenge of our time. The term sustainability is defined as to “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”7. According to that definition, every factor that could impact the future must be taken into account when making a decision, quite a tall order. In order to calculate whether an activity or a land use is “sustainable”, there is an almost endless list of metrics that must be considered in that calculation.
A Solution: the Greener Golf Index
There are multiple environmental stewardship certification initiatives and organizations integrating best management practices that include sustainability efforts. However, none that I have found have been able to holistically assess the economic, environmental, social, cultural, and golf-related factors of a golf facility’s impact. In my efforts to create an algorithm to calculate a holistic sustainability score for golf courses, which I have termed the Greener Golf Index, I have identified over 900 measurable factors to include in that calculation. The result is progress towards an evidence-based answer to whether or not the golf course in question is a responsible steward of the land and its larger ecosystem.
Bees: Short-Hand for Sustainability
While the Greener Golf Index is a powerful tool in a golf course management toolbox, there are also simpler short-hand tools that can elegantly demonstrate the sustainability of a land use, specifically a golf course. Being an indicator species for environmental health, the presence of strong and thriving bees in a given location is a good indicator of the environmental health of that area as a whole. Simply put; their presence means that the area is favorable to life.
So, a key practice I use in my work as a sustainability consultant in the golf industry is to analyze the health of bees and identify simple and mutually-beneficial ways to support them. Establishing a beekeeping program at a golf facility provides opportunities to examine and closely monitor the environmental health of a golf course over time.
The Trojan Horse of Environmental Stewardship
I refer to beekeeping programs on golf courses as the “Trojan Horse” of environmental stewardship. Many golfers understand the importance of bees so they support programs to help bees at golf courses. And because golfers support bee health, golf course superintendents are more inclined to consider bees in their management decisions, thus adding another layer of concern when selecting products to apply on the golf course and therefore likely reducing the use of harmful chemicals, which is safer for bees and most likely for humans as well.
Additionally, pollinators and bees need forage (flowers) as their source of nutrition. If a golf course manager recognizes the interest of their golfing community as supporters of bees, they will make space for wildflowers and pollinator habitat on the course. This process shrinks the footprint of the turf managed for play and therefore reduces the need for irrigation, fertilization, and other applications of those areas, another step toward better environmental stewardship.
Bees pollinate flowers up to two miles away from where their colonies are located8, and golf courses can act as “bee banks” of pollination services, providing the community surrounding the golf course with increased yields from their gardens and fruit trees as a result of the presence of bees. The positive cascading or ripple effects of bees, many of which are so complex and downstream that they are difficult to quantify, and possibly even some that we have yet to discover or fully understand.
Beekeeping and Golf: Balance of Art & Science
Beekeeping is a mix of art and science, just like golf. It requires a calmness and mindfulness and an understanding of the conditions in order to make the best decision possible. If you move too fast when in a beehive, the bees will notify you of your error (ouch), and we, as golfers, know what happens in golf when the tempo of the golf swing is off (fore right!).
There are significant lessons we can learn from bees that are applicable to the golf course. Bees do no harm unless threatened. The daily activities of bees’ lives help other species reproduce and prosper, so their mere presence brings about a cascade of positive impacts. Imagine if a human’s life had solely positive impacts, or at least net positive impacts. Then we would truly be the change we wish to see in the world. Golf has the opportunity to promote the cascade of positive impacts, and I think the best place to start is by supporting bees.
Bees: the Change towards Greener Golf
If you look at beekeeping on a golf course from a monetary perspective it doesn’t make sense, however if you look at it from a value-generating perspective, there are few other activities that compare. Besides revenue potential from infrequent honey production, there are not many other revenue generating opportunities for beekeeping, and the costs associated with maintaining an apiary often outweigh the profits.
The indirect effects of beekeeping create value that is hard to ignore with the increase in environmental stewardship potential, the reduction in potentially harmful chemicals, the increase in wildflower areas and resulting decrease in turfgrass area and water use, the educational opportunities and community engagement potential, and simply the example that bees provide as selfless, purely democratic (not a monarchy as often assumed), hard-working, and compassionate beings.
It is because of these ripple effects that beekeeping and pollinator programs are integral components of the mission and focus of the sustainability work of Greener Golf. If you would like to learn other sustainability efforts or more about bees and how they can enhance your golf operation or how you can be involved in supporting pollinators in your area, please feel free to reach out to me to start a conversation. I look forward to it and wish you a happy Earth Day.
About Parker Anderson & Greener Golf
Parker is a consultant and educator for Greener Golf, a company which works with golf courses to create efficiencies through sustainable practices and advocates for partnership with nature for mutually beneficial value, increased accessibility, and community engagement. Parker is a member of both the GCSAA and PGA of America. For more information about Parker and Greener Golf please visit www.greener.golf.
Instagram: @greener_golf
Twitter: @greener_golf
All photos are courtesy of Greener Golf, LLC
References
1 Ranseth, Joseph. (April 2, 2021). Gandhi Didn't Actually Say ‘Be the Change You Want to See in the World.’ Here's the Real Quote. https://josephranseth.com/gandhi-didnt-say-be-the-change-you-want-to-see-in-the-world/
2 University of Minnesota Bee Lab. (2015). https://www.beelab.umn.edu/
3 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (April 2, 2021). FAO's Global Action on Pollination Services for Sustainable Agriculture. http://www.fao.org/pollination/en/
4 Concio, C. (July 9, 2019). Bees Declared To Be The Most Important Living Being On Earth. The Science Times. https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/23245/20190709/bees-are-the-most-important-living-being-on-earth.htm
5 Patel, V., Pauli, N., Biggs, E. et al. (April 2, 2021). Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development. Ambio. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-020-01333-9
6 Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of America. (April 2, 2021). GCSAA Best Management Practices. https://www.gcsaa.org/environment/best-management-practices
7 United Nations. (April 2, 2021). United Nations Brundtland Commission: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5987our-common-future.pdf
8 Eckert, JE. (1933) The flight range of the honeybee. Journal of Agricultural Research, 47(8).
