STRI Group Announce New Honours: The STRI Group has announced the addition of a new set of honours for the 2020 Golf Environment Awards (GEAs).
The Home Unions National awards, supported by the governing bodies for amateur golf in the UK, are designed to encourage clubs, just starting their ecological and environmental journey, to enter the GEAs.
The GEAs have grown considerably in stature over the last few years and are now recognised as a prestigious and integrated award within the industry and at club level. Importantly the GEAs provide a vehicle for the industry and individual clubs to share information, grow their experience and importantly, demonstrate ecological and environmental best practice.
England Golf, Scottish Golf, Wales Golf and Golfing Union of Ireland joined the GEAs in 2018 to help create greater environmental awareness throughout golf. The Home Unions also provide a platform to help clubs grow the game by increasing membership and supporting sustainability at the heart of their communities.
Each Home Union will have its own National award for clubs in their region. Clubs must enter before the closing date of 2 August 2019. Shortlisted finalists will be confirmed in November 2019, and the winners will be announced at the GEAs in Harrogate during BTME week in January 2020.
The Home Unions National awards joins the existing GEA awards – Environmental Golf Course of the Year, Environmental Project of the Year, Conservation Greenkeeper of Year and Operation Pollinator.
Golf Environment Awards founder, Bob Taylor, said: “We wanted to make the GEAs even more accessible to golf clubs, however big or small, across all regions of the UK. Developing a new cluster of awards, with the support of the Home Unions, will hopefully encourage clubs who haven’t entered before to give the awards a try, and to use them as a springboard to aim for the other established GEA awards in the future.”
Steve Isaac, R&A Director of Sustainability, said: “The R&A is delighted that its affiliates in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are engaging with the Golf Environment Awards. This new category will unearth some fantastic examples of good environmental practices which can be widely shared and adopted by others in the golf industry.”
Iain Lancaster, Club Support Manager at England Golf, said: “England Golf is delighted to be involved with the new Home Unions National Golf Environment Award. This will be a wonderful showcase for remarkable projects undertaken by our affiliated clubs. We hope it will inspire others to put good environmental management into practice.”
Sandy Veale, Golf Coordinator – Wales Golf, said: “Wales Golf is delighted to have been involved in the development of the new of the Home Unions National Award. With so many fantastic examples of good environmental management across Welsh Golf Clubs, which might otherwise have gone unrecognised, this is a fantastic opportunity to give clubs the credit they deserve and spread good practice across the Home Unions.”
Carolyn Hedley, Environment and Sustainability Manager Scottish Golf, said: “Scottish Golf is pleased to continue its support for the Golf Environment Awards in 2019 and we are delighted that the new National Award has been created to encourage more clubs to enter. The GEAs are a great way for clubs to demonstrate their superb environmental practices and projects and we would encourage more Scottish greenkeepers to get involved to get the recognition they deserve.”
Entry for the 2020 GEAs closes on Friday 2 August 2019. Visit golfenvironmentawards.com for more details and to submit your club’s application.
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