GOOD NEWS!!!

The Village Country Club 
is fully certified as an 
Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary

After several years of work, the Village Country Club was fully certified as an Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary in 2001 under the guidance of former Golf Course Superintendent Bob Teager. The members at VCC all take great pride in the beauty of the course.. However, only a few know the ways in which their course has become environmentally friendly as well as a great place to golf. Purely voluntary and totally non-interfering,  the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses brings many advantages to our golf course and at the same time helps us show concern for our community and support for the environment.

Click here for a printable BROCHURE about the program. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open this file.)
This brochure is designed to be two-sided and triple folded.
Please print first page on front, then turn over and print second page on back.
Triple fold with the VCC logo on top.
 

What is this Audubon International program about?

Audubon International is a not-for-profit organization that manages several conservation, research, and education programs, including the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System. The key word is 'Cooperative'. Under this program, we have total control over our property.  Audubon International provides information and validation, but all activities are voluntary, and there are no requirements or restrictions. This program began in 1991, with two participating golf courses in New York. Today, over 2,000 courses in all fifty states and around the world are participating. Both the United States Golf Association and the Golf Course Superintendents Association support the program.  As of 2001 there were two other certified courses in our area: Morro Bay and the new Cypress Ridge in Arroyo Grande, and the beauty of these courses demonstrates the value of the program.  Other popular courses such as TPC Sawgrass in Florida, the Kapalua Resort Courses in Hawaii, and over 80 others, have achieved Fully Certified status.  
 
What are our goals under the program?

The designation of a "Fully Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" means that a course has been granted Certificates of Achievement by Audubon International in each of six categories: Environmental Planning, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Integrated Pest Management, Water Conservation, Water Quality Management, and Outreach and Education. While there are many issues covered in each of the units involved in certification, here are the goals and objectives for each area.  Follow the links to learn what has been accomplished in each.

• The objective of Environmental Planning is to put together a plan for increasing the health and diversity of the plants and animals that inhabit our property.

• In Wildlife and Habitat Management, the objective is to preserve and enhance the environment in which our golf course is located and be a good environmental neighbor in our community. A side-benefit of this is providing a beautiful sanctuary in which that our members can play in a refreshingly natural setting.

• The primary Integrated Pest Management objective is to keep the right balance between golf-course aesthetics and helping nature. We need to enjoy the seasonal changes of the landscape instead of trying to force the landscape to look the same (i.e. "perfect") all year long through the use of excessive water, pesticides and fertilizer. through the use of naturalized areas, we can help increase wildlife population and diversity.

• When addressing Water Conservation we are trying to provide for healthy kikuyu turf with the driest possible playing conditions and also keeping the poa greens as dry as possible to inhibit disease. Another side benefit to the members when we water efficiently is lowered costs , both for the water and for the electricity used in pumping.

• To protect Water Quality we test the incoming seasonal creeks for oils, nitrates, and pesticides and make sure that low levels or none of these compounds exit our property. Such tests show that the golf course does not degrade, and may actually improve, the quality of the water.

• For Outreach and Education we worked with the members and the surrounding community to raise awareness of what this program is all about and why it is important.  We provided tours around the course and, among other things, developed this website to get the word out..

As a result of these efforts, our course is a great place to look around and feel good from being in a natural setting.  Also, Audubon International has told us that not only are we now fully certified, but our program and this
website will be held up as exemplary for other golf courses. Not surprisingly, Bob Taeger has been listed with Audubon International a prime contact for other golf courses for information on how to become certified.

Here is our final certificate together with special recognition for Bob Taeger!