The manicured greens and fairways of golf courses are not famed for being biodiversity hotspots. But they could be. And one club, Llanymynech on the border of England and Wales, is showing the way.
Its edges are flower- and insect-rich limestone grassland that supports 30 butterfly species and forms part of a site of special scientific interest. But when sheep-grazing stopped 50 years ago, this meadowland became a dense thicket of sycamore, hazel and ash.
As rewilding schemes show, scrub can be brilliant for some wildlife but it is less positive if it smothers flower-filled grassland. In what is believed to be a first for a golf club, Llanymynech took the lead in a £91,000 project funded by Natural Resources Wales to clear scrub and restore the grassland.
This will help early-summer butterflies flying now, including the rare and declining grizzled skipper, whose caterpillars feed on wild strawberry, the small pearl-bordered fritillary and the dingy skipper, whose food-plant is birdsfoot trefoil.
“We hope the golfers will appreciate the butterflies and wildflowers, as well as the astounding views, while enjoying their game,” said the naturalist Simon Spencer, who oversaw the project.
The grassland will be lightly grazed by cows with GPS collars to maximise biodiversity.
