Coming Soon: The ERC

Dr. Charles H. Peacock, GEE Visiting Scientist; Professor at NC State University and Senior Scientist for Audubon International

Over the last four months considerable progress has been made on the collation and development of materials for the Environmental Resource Centre (ERC) for Golf. The information has been categorised into four main areas: Golf Course, Maintenance Facility, Clubhouse and Golf Development.

The structure of the ERC has evolved over the last several months. Supported by Ransomes Jacobsen, Syngenta and Swan Golf Designs, GEE have been working hard on the structure and content of the website. We identified three levels where information would be available.

At level one, the main categories will help direct people to more specific topics. For example, under the Golf Course section information will be available on water conservation, water quality management, turfgrass management, waste management, energy, ecology, landscape and cultural heritage and climate change.

At the next level, issues and concerns about the specific topics will be addressed, Best Management Practices (BMPs) identified and technical information, case studies, research reports, and photo galleries made available so that users can find detailed resource information.

Modules have been written for the Golf Course section on water conservation including water use efficiency and alternative water sources and water quality monitoring. Naturally, under Turfgrass Management, both Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and nutrient management have been addressed. Issues related to the Maintenance Facility have included sections on equipment wash pads, pesticide storage areas, pesticide mixing/loading areas and fuelling areas.

By the end of July, the website template will begin to have information loaded into it for evaluation by the Innovation and Technology working group. This evaluation will last for several months as group members and selected practitioners critically review the way the website works and the content. It is anticipated that the public access “launch” will occur sometime around the end of the year or early in 2008.

Plans are being made for continued development and expansion into the other areas along with making the information more interactive in the future. I plan to return in summer 2008 to continue the work. It is an exciting project and has been a great opportunity for a collaborative effort that will be useful to the golf course industry worldwide.