Shadow Wood Country Club and Shadow Wood Preserve Golf Counrses Recognized for Environmental Excellence
09/09/09 The golf courses at Shadow Wood Country Club and Shadow Wood Preserve have retained their designations as "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries" 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.
"Shadow Wood Country Club and Shadow Wood Preserve have 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 Jim Sluiter, Staff Ecologist at Audubon International.
Shadow Wood Country Club course and the Shadow Wood Preserve course are among 95 courses in Florida and 709 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 courses were both designated as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary in 2006. After designation, courses go through a certification process every two years.
This year, as part of the recertification process, Eric Ruha, Director of Golf Operations at Shadow Wood Country Club and Shadow Wood Preserve, required a visit by a local environmental expert who conducted the site visit and sent his observations to Audubon International.
"The best part of our job as golf course managers is the environment we get to call our office," explained Ruha. "There is nothing more rewarding than riding in at the end of the day as the sun goes down, admiring nature's handy work. We're fortunate to work for the Bonita Bay Group who has been committed to environmental excellence from the beginning and continues to foster these types of relationships."
"We see the site visit as an important component of a course's recertification," stated Sluiter. "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 www.auduboninternational.org. For more information on golf and the environment, visit www.golfandenvironment.org.
Bonita Bay Group has operated for 25 years in Southwest Florida as a diversified company involved in the planning, development, sales and management of master-planned communities. The company is currently developing six master-planned communities – Bonita Bay, Shadow Wood Preserve, Mediterra, TwinEagles, Verandah and Sandoval. Additional information about the company is available at www.BonitaBayGroup.com.
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