SUSTAINABILITY ACCOLADE PRESENTED

Farleigh Golf Club has been awarded England Golf’s ‘Sustainability Project of The Year’ at the governing body’s annual celebration evening.

The 2022 ceremony was hosted virtually by England Golf CEO Jeremy Tomlinson and BBC Presenter Naga Munchetty, and was broadcast live across YouTube on April 20th. 

The award recognises the club’s pioneering Operation Pollinator programme which has seen the reintroduction of stunning, natural wildflowers to the golf courses, as well as a vast increase in animals and insects, helping to aid pollination throughout the local environment. 

Initially planned to cover 0.5 hectares of land, the club are to add a minimum of 0.5 additional hectares in 2022 after the success of the original locations.

Farleigh say Operation Pollination has been truly embraced by all, with the club and its members immensely proud to have seen such a vast increase in insect life since undertaking the project, notably in the form of the native bumblebees. 

Whilst the England Golf award recognises the work already undertaken, the team at Farleigh will be adding to this throughout the year, specifically by also adding a new wildflower area alongside the club’s driveway, creating a stunning entrance for all who arrive at the property. 

General manager of Farleigh Golf Club, James Ibbetson said, "The club are truly honoured to have been awarded England Golf’s Sustainability Project of The Year. An enormous amount of work has gone into the project from our greenkeeping team, with our membership hugely proud of what has been achieved across our golf courses. 

“Our Greenkeeping team, led by Kenny MacPhail (pictured top) are already beginning to work on the additional areas of wildflowers which we hope will continue to provide a safe haven for these insects, as well as a stunning visual backdrop for our members and guests. We thank England Golf for the recognition, and would like to congratulate all the other winners from the evening”.