The 1,000th tree has been planted in a scheme to restore habitat on the cable route of Scotland’s largest offshore windfarm.
In 2018, Carnoustie Golf Links began working with Seagreen, a 114-turbine development off the coast of Angus.
The £3 billion project, a joint venture between SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies, generated its first electricity last year.
The power cable comes aground at Carnoustie, and the project required the felling and transplanting of 200 trees.
In agreement with Angus Council, Carnoustie Golf Links were required to re-plant one tree for every specimen felled.
But the Links went a step further by committing to planting 1,000 trees.
And this week, local primary school youngsters helped the project hit its target.
Step towards net zero ambition
Head of sustainability Craig Boath said: “We are dedicated to contributing to the natural environment of our courses.
“With an abundance of wildlife calling the Links ‘home’, we want to make sure that we both protect what we already have and enhance the eco-system for the future.
“Although there were a few delays on the way, the Seagreen project felt a very natural opportunity to combine with and deliver our own planting project.”
The new trees will offset around 1,610 tonnes of carbon over their lifetime of roughly 40 years.
Craig says it’s another element of the Links’ ambition of becoming a carbon net-zero organisation.
‘Small but significant legacy’
Links chief executive Michael Wells said: “Carnoustie Golf Links is dedicated to doing the right thing for our local community and the natural habitats that surround us.
“We took a big step this year in appointing the brand-new role of head of sustainability, a position focused on ensuring that we are doing all that we can to protect and enhance our environment.”
The role is a first for Carnoustie and a rare position within the sport.
“This tree planting project is one that the whole team have got behind,” he added.
He said it would leave a “small but significant legacy on the Links.”
Seagreen’s onshore project manager, Steven Reid said: “We have formed a good partnership with Carnoustie Golf Links as we have tried to minimise the impact and disturbance felt during the construction works.
“We’re pleased to have helped contribute to the number of trees being planted across the course at Carnoustie and to the overall ecology of the golf links as part of our project works.”
Future projects in the pipeline
Angus Lord Lieutenant Pat Sawers, a past chairman of the Links Management Committee said: “As a current season ticket holder, it’s wonderful to know the team at the Links are taking the sustainability and ecology of the golf courses seriously.
“If we want our courses to flourish well into the future, we know that they need to be looked after, and should work harmoniously within the eco-system.”
Angus Provost Brian Boyd added: “The Links are very well placed to make a significant impact on the local natural environment and it’s excellent to see the great work going on down here.
“I know that this is not the end of the tireless environmental work that is happening across the organisation and I look forward to seeing more projects like this coming to fruition in the future.”
R&A study
Carnoustie are currently working with R&A ecological consultants with the purpose of delivering a five-year project to demonstrate the biodiversity value of golf courses.
The R&A Sustainable Championship Agronomy team have selected a series of exemplar Championship venues for this project.
Although the study was to be focused only on the world-famous Championship course, the scope has been widened to cover the whole estate.
The project will include a series of surveys including wildlife audits and habitat condition assessments.