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When my partners and I took over the operation of Goat Hill Park Golf Course in Oceanside, Calif., eight years ago, we pledged to be as environmentally aware as possible. Hence, we now have bees. Lots of them.
This is not my area of expertise, but it is for my friend Parker Anderson, a sustainability consultant who preaches that healthy bees signal a healthy ecosystem. The Goat Hill beekeeping program will enhance our course and natural surroundings for years to come.
Our apiary, which I’m sitting in here, is in a perfect place for bees and largely out of the way of golfers – it serves as a great directional aid when playing our 12th hole. We now have six active boxes with queen bees.
Looking forward, we will refine our operation. Led by Parker, University of Michigan graduate students are using Goat Hill as a laboratory to inform a research project on sustainable practices, an effort that includes studying golfer traffic in the USGA’s Deacon app to identify other areas that could support pollinators.
We’re lucky to have strong community support and are delighted to shine a light on the benefits of bees.