Audubon Golf Certification – All 6 Categories approved

NCC Logo

All 6 categories approved and certified: 

  1. Environmental Planning
  2. Wildlife and Habitat Management
  3. Chemical Use Reduction and Safety
  4. Water Conservation
  5. Water Quality Management
  6. Outreach and Education

Certification in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses (ACSP) is a significant accomplishment. A Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary designated golf course demonstrates environmental leadership in the golf industry.

Golf course staff and members can take pride in knowing that Niakwa Country Club provides significant wildlife habitat and is maintained in an environmentally responsible manner.

By managing the property with a high degree of environmental quality, certified courses provide green space for people and wildlife while contributing to climate conservation for future generations.

Niakwa Country Club has done an exceptional job by completing all 6 certification requirements before the end of the 2022 golf season.

Niakwa’s Watershed

One of the greatest concerns facing golf courses is to ensure a consistent water supply. Niakwa uses water from two retention ponds on the golf course. The pump house to the left of Hole 13 draws water from the Seine River into the pond systems to maintain the water supply in the ponds.

Retention ponds provide both protection from the forces and runoff from storm water as well as water quality treatment and purification.  The retention time and still water promotes pollutant removal through sedimentation and a thriving natural aquatic ecosystem offers additional treatment.  Runoff water returns to Seine River via the10 tee box with help from a sump pump situated under gully under the Niakwa bridge by the 18th hole.

Niakwa’s naturalization efforts, such as increasing natural grasses and extending turf are a part of these Water Quality Management improvements.

Call for SOS Board Directors

January, 2022: A CALL FOR BOARD MEMBERS:

 Do you know someone who would be great for the SOS Board?

The SOS Nominations Committee is now making its annual call-out, seeking any interested people who would like to serve on the Board of Directors.

This year we are particularly looking for people who have a background or interest in finance, governance, fund development, environmental protection, human resources, or land development issues.

The deadline for nominations is Feb. 15, 2022.

Directors will be elected at SOS’s annual general meeting in April 2022 (stay tuned for an upcoming announcement on the AGM date!)

Please submit your nomination or indicate your own interest using the online form at saveourseine.com/volunteer

Please tell us the following about yourself or the person you are nominating:

  • Why are you/they interested in the Board?
  • What skills/background do you/they bring?
  • What do you/they want to get from being on the Board?
  • Contact information

You can learn more about being a Board Director with SOS here.

If you have any questions, please contact us at info@saveourseine.com.

NCC WILDFLOWER GARDEN

This spring, the out-of-play area between the 10th and 12th Tee boxes will become the location of a Wildflower Garden to offer a habitat for Monarch butterflies.

42 species of tall grass prairie, short grass prairie and wetlands plants have been ordered with a heavy emphasis on wildflowers including Milkweed – needed by Monarchs to sustain their life cycle.  

All plants are sourced from Prairie Originals, a local native plant grower working only with local genetics. Once mature this garden will support nectar loving birds, butterflies, bees – but not deer! …along with enhancing the natural aesthetics of the golf course. 

MONARCHS in the ROUGH

A Wonder of the World, Monarchs have declined by more than 90% over the last 2 decades.  NCC joins with Audubon International to restore a habitat and migration area for Monarchs in out-of-play areas of our golf course and creating awareness of how the golf course can contribute significantly to a world-wide conservation challenge.

NCC Horticulturalist, Daphne Stapley leads the naturalization of woodland and the seeding of Milkweed off the river bank at Hole 10 to the back of the 12th tee complex. Milkweed provides the environment where Monarchs lay their eggs and is the food that larvae need to complete their metamorphosis into adult butterflies.  This area will be declared environmentally sensitive, denoted with appropriate signage.

NCC’s participation in #MonarchsInTheRough contributes to the ecological naturalization of our golf sanctuary and serves a community leadership role in global conservation stewardship.

A HOME FOR WOOD DUCKS

The wood duck is a beautiful bird that often has difficulty finding an appropriate nesting site. While they like to nest in old nests in tree cavities made by other birds, they have far greater success nesting in human-made Cavity Nesting Bird Boxes

The boxes need to be strategically placed and maintained on the edge of a creek, river, stream or in a seasonally flooded area, about 1m above the water.  Sometimes kestrels or owls will make these boxes a home.  

Thanks to NCC members Bill James and Phil Klopak for building duck boxes for NCC this year.  For anyone feeling inspired to build one for their own yard these are good plans to follow!

Cavity Nesting Bird Box Plans

HONEY HIVES

Honey production on golf courses has grown in popularity over the past years. This summer, working with Scott Creek Honey farm, two hives of European Honey Bees will find a home to the east of Hole 5 Green and at the end of the pond between Hole 11 and 16. Southern Manitoba is one of the best places in the world for honey production and NCC has an abundance of diverse food and water sources to support this important and sustainable initiative. 

Not only will the bees produce our own unique NCC Honey, but they will also provide much more reliable pollination that will benefit the plants on our property and in the greater community-at-large.

NCC Horticulturalist, Daphne Stapley has learning about beekeeping through the University of Manitoba to ensure a safe and responsible enterprise.  

NATURALIZING NIAKWA

As part of the Audubon Certification Program for Golf, NCC has embarked upon a goal to naturalize at least 50% of the non-playing golf property.  

Last year, NCC Horticulturalist, Daphne Stapely began to naturalize the pond edge garden between holes 11 and 16.  Prior to these efforts, a garden of annuals was heavily grazed upon by geese and deer.  Naturalizing this area has seen a reduction in watering, eliminated the need for fertilizers, and thereby reduced leaching into the golf course’s water source.

Look for more birds and turtles populating the area and see if the geese and deer are choosing to graze elsewhere!