Tag Archive for: Pollinator

Syngenta Operation Pollinator Award open for entries

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Syngenta Operation Pollinator Award open for entries: The Syngenta Operation Pollinator Award 2026 is open for entries.

The Award  seeks to reward golf clubs and other sport facilities proactively creating areas for all pollinator insects, along with managing other ecology initiatives that enhance the biodiversity alongside playing surfaces.

Syngenta Operation Pollinator Award open for entries

Syngenta Operation Pollinator Award open for entries

There are no Golf Environment Awards taking place for 2026, so the Syngenta Operation Pollinator Award will be presented at the prestigious BIGGA Awards Evening at BTME, Harrogate in January.

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The Award, open for UK golf clubs and sport facilities, is being managed by the STRI and judged by an independent industry panel, including the Wildlife Trust, BIGGA and last year’s Operation Pollinator Award winner, Melissa Winkworth of Goring & Streatley Golf Club.

Entry is a simple on-line questionnaire and sending in photos, detailing what you do, what has been seen and how it is communicated with players and the public, along with how ecology initiatives fit with the overall turf management. A short-list of finalists will be contacted for a discussion with leading STRI ecologist, Stella Rixon.

She advocates the Operation Pollinator Award provides a great opportunity for greenkeepers and the golf industry to showcase the immense ecological resource that has been created.

“It’s a good news story for you, your team and your club,” adds Stella.

Syngenta Turf Business Manager, Sarah Hughes, highlights with all the golf clubs actively signed-up and engaged in the initiative Operation Pollinator has been shown to have a place on every course.

“Together, the clubs involved with Operation Pollinator have created a vast network of habitats for pollinating insects and wider biodiversity in well managed habitats, alongside managing turf for golf and sport,” she says.

“Using Operation Pollinator to learn from each other’s experiences and share best practices for both habitat management and communicating with clubs and players is a huge benefit, and a great way for the industry to demonstrate the value of golf as a positive ecological resource.

“We urge all clubs to get involved; sign-up now and enter for the Operation Pollinator Award.”

Operation Pollinator aims to support golf clubs and sports facilities to establish and manage areas that will provide essential food resources and nesting habitat for pollinators, including native bees, butterflies and other insects.

The initiative brings together a community of turf managers to help each other and share their successes and experience, along with demonstrating the immense ecological value of managed amenity turf areas.

Entries for Operation Pollinator Award 2026 close on Friday 21st November.

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Operation Pollinator helps Farleigh GC

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Operation Pollinator helps Farleigh GC: Farleigh Golf Club is delighted to have been awarded England Golf’s ‘Sustainability Project of The Year’ at the governing body’s annual celebration evening. The 2022 ceremony was hosted virtually by England Golf CEO Jeremy Tomlinson and BBC Presenter Naga Munchetty, and was broadcast live across YouTube on April 20th.

The award recognises the club’s pioneering Operation Pollinator programme which has seen the reintroduction of stunning, natural wildflowers to the golf courses, as well as a vast increase in animals and insects, helping to aid pollination throughout the local environment.

Operation Pollinator helps Farleigh GC

Operation Pollinator helps Farleigh GC

Initially planned to cover 0.5 hectares of land, the club are to add a minimum of 0.5 additional hectares in 2022 after the success of the original locations. Operation Pollination has been truly embraced by all at Farleigh Golf Club, with the club and its members immensely proud to have seen such a vast increase in insect life since undertaking the project, notably in the form of the native bumblebees which have been in stark decline across the UK.

Whilst the England Golf award recognises the work already undertaken, the team at Farleigh will be adding to this throughout the year, specifically by also adding a new wildflower area alongside the club’s driveway, creating a stunning entrance for all who arrive at the property.

General Manager of Farleigh Golf Club, James Ibbetson commented: “The club are truly honoured to have been awarded England Golf’s Sustainability Project of The Year. An enormous amount of work has gone into the project from our greenkeeping team, with our membership hugely proud of what has been achieved across our golf courses.

“Our Greenkeeping team, led by Kenny MacPhail are already beginning to work on the additional areas of wildflowers which we hope will continue to provide a safe haven for these insects, as well as a stunning visual backdrop for our members and guests. We thank England Golf for the recognition, and would like to congratulate all the other winners from the evening”.

Further information about Operation Pollinator can be found on the Farleigh Golf Club website at: https://www.farleighfox.co.uk/operationpollinator

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Newquay GC wins Operation Pollinator Award

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Newquay GC wins Operation Pollinator Award: Congratulations to Dan Kendle, Head Greenkeeper at Newquay Golf Club, for his success in winning this year’s Syngenta Operation Pollinator Award – presented at the Golf Environment Awards during BTME 2022.

Situated right on the rugged north Cornish coast and running behind the entire length of the surfing mecca, Fistral Beach, the course provides an amazing links golf experience, along with providing an immense ecological resource.

Newquay GC wins Operation Pollinator Award

Newquay GC wins Operation Pollinator Award

Over the past few years, Dan and the team at Newquay have been working hard to refine the long ecological rough areas. “It’s already paying huge dividends, with an increase in wildflower populations in areas which were cut and scarified, including yellow rattle, kidney vetch, birds-foot trefoil and pyramidal orchids,” he reported.

At the same time, he signed the Club up to Syngenta’s Operation Pollinator. “As part of that we over-seeded an area outside our maintenance building with a coastal mix of wildflowers.

“It’s created a lot of positive feedback from both club members and also members of the public. The area has been alive with insects, including several species of bumblebee, including red tailed and garden bumblebees.”

Elsewhere on the course bunkers are used by solitary bees, with sandpit mining bees and sandpit blood bees both having been recorded.

Commenting on his success in Operation Pollinator Awards, Dan said: “to find out we had won the award was amazing.

“It’s a great achievement for us and I want to thank all the team for their hard work they have put in to helping contribute to the award. Along with the members and committee of Newquay Golf Club for their continued support in everything we do.”

Syngenta Technical Manager, Sean Loakes, added: “Dan has really embodied the spirit of Operation Pollinator in continuing to manage the golf course for the benefit of the Club’s members, while at the same time managing the out of play areas and particularly the ecological rough for the benefit of pollinators and the vast biodiversity.”

Golf clubs can sign up to join Operation Pollinator and receive a wealth of resources and advice on ecological management from the Syngenta website: www.syngentaturf.co.uk/operation-pollinator

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