Longshore Club Park has retained its designation as a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, an Audubon International program.
Participation is designed to help course personnel plan, organize, implement, and document a comprehensive environmental management program and receive recognition for their efforts. To reach certification, a course must demonstrate that they are maintaining a high degree of environmental quality in a number of areas including: Environmental Planning, Wildlife & Habitat Management, Outreach and Education, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, and Water Quality Management.
"Longshore Club Park has shown a strong commitment to its environmental program. They are to be commended for their efforts to provide a sanctuary for wildlife on the golf course property," said Joellen Lampman, Program Manager at Audubon International.
Longshore Club Park is one of 12 courses in Connecticut and 677 courses in the world to receive the honor. Golf courses from the United States, Africa, Australia, Central America, Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia have also achieved certification in the program. The golf course was designated as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary in 2005. After designation, courses go through a recertification process every two years.
This year, the recertification process, coordinated by Brian Sepot, Assistant Superintendent at Longshore Club Park, required a visit by a local community representative. Richard Harris, Director of Harbor Watch/River Watch at Earthplace, the Nature Discovery Center, was given a tour of the course and sent his observations to Audubon International. Harris was pleased with the stewardship projects completed at Longshore Club Park, stating “It is obvious that the Longshore Golf Course meets the Audubon [International] standards and that considerable efforts have been expanded to make this course compatible with the surrounding natural systems.”
Sepot is also pleased with the results of his course’s involvement in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses and that he could “continue to work with Audubon International to help protect and improve a treasure for the Town of Westport.”
“We see the site visit as an important component of a course’s recertification,” stated Lampman. “It provides an objective verification of some of the more visible aspects of the course’s environmental management activities. In addition, it offers an opportunity for golf course representatives to share publicly some of the voluntary actions they have taken to protect and sustain the land, water, wildlife, and natural resources around them.”
Audubon International is an environmental organization dedicated to educating, assisting, and inspiring millions of people from all walks of life to protect and sustain the land, water, wildlife, and natural resources around them. In addition to golf courses, the Audubon International also provides programs for schools, businesses, communities, and individuals.
For more information, contact Audubon International, 46 Rarick Rd., Selkirk, NY 12158, USA, (518) 767-9051, e-mail them via the Internet at acss@auduboninternational.org, or visit their website at http://www.auduboninternational.org. For more information on golf and the environment, visit http://www.golfandenvironment.org.