John O' Gaunt Golf Club

Sustainability and Conservation

John O'Gaunt Golf Club is committed to protecting our environment and ensuring our operations build sustainability into our way of thinking.

John O'Gaunt Golf Club has always thought about sustainability and conservation internally and members have ensured that actions and decisions have considered these approaches. However, for the first time a Sustainability and Conservation Champion, supported by interested members, will help to coordinate a strategy for progressing the clubs agenda is this area. We will be looking across the whole club, from our land management to golf practices and our estate management and utilities to ensure that we maximise the benefits to the club. Taking these approaches can help the club benefit by helping to save money and time, as well as improving the quality of the course and building our reputation.

Sustainability – meeting the needs of present without comprising the ability of future generations meeting their own needs.

Conservation – the protection, preservation, management or restoration of natural environments and the ecological communities that inhabit them from effects of human activity.

What We Have Done To Date

Woodland management Removed non-native species alongside a management plan which improves airflow in wooded areas whilst reducing maintenance costs.
	Course irrigation and water management Increased irrigation for more dry areas and seeking to expand this into the Carthagena course Working with Anglian water and the environment Agency on usage of final effluent water from Potton Treatment works (ongoing).
Clubhouse New terraced area which has environmental sustainable lighting.
	Car parking Newly resurfaced area which improves drainage and builds options for using this run off in future.

What We Are Planning

We will pull together a set of priority areas and actions which will be discussed, refined and ranked to ensure that actions we can undertake now we do, and those we need to plan for, we set out a pathway to achieving them. These areas may include:

Solar panel installations
Water management planning (including clean water usage, drainage, brook and effluent management and course irrigation)
Review utility usage and electrical equipment (clubhouse and golf equipment)
Clubhouse management (single use plastics, recycling, kitchen waste)
Carbon foot printing
Course Ecological review and protection of key species (including bird / bat boxes)
Woodland management
Community engagement activities