Page 27 - Green Master summer 2022

and
Change
This pond at Cordova Bay Club can benefit from planting of native Organic matter at Cordova Bay Golf Club is composted and returned shrubs around the edge to create shelter and habitat for native wildlife. to the soil, thus reducing CO2 emissions and storing carbon. Using it as
the damage and adapting to it will increase markedly as climate change intensifies. The growing season and playing season will lengthen and the choice of landscape plants increase. However, warming temperatures and longer growing seasons will encourage more weeds, pests and diseases resulting in increased maintenance cost.
There is a growing expectation from society, in general, for golf course lands to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The green space of golf courses can provide environmental services such as water management and ecological values. Ecological values are particularly an
issue because global climate change is coupled with a biodiversity loss crisis. Environmental values are strongly linked to climate change adaptation because they increase our resilience to impacts especially extreme weather events. Ecological adaptation also helps mitigate climate change by reducing the emission of carbon dioxide from the land and supporting the sequestration of carbon in soil and living matter.
GETTING STARTED
Rapid change is underway and the challenges are daunting so there is no time to lose. First, owners and managers need to get informed
about regional climate change projections and its likely impacts. In British Columbia we have a tool called “Plan2Adapt” (see https:// pacificclimate.org/analysis-tools/ plan2adapt) that allows golf course operators to envision the degree and rate of change in the coming years. Many municipal and regional governments have staff dedicated to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Second, audit your CO2 budget, not only operational emissions but also your role in sequestering and storing carbon. Take a hard look at your water demands and where your water comes from. The USGA
garden mulch retains moisture.
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