The path to environmental sustainability at Cantigny Golf Course is a journey for superintendent Scott Witte, CGCS, not a destination.Located within the 500-acre Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Ill., the golf course has been a Certified Audubon Sanctuary property since 1993. And Witte has been active ever since enhancing Cantigny's environmental profile.
Subsequent conservation efforts since Witte became superintendent in 1995 include establishing a butterfly trail, monitoring fish populations in Cantigny's pond, promoting habitat for native songbirds, as well as purple martins. For the past four years, Witte, a self-proclaimed ambassador of golf's environmental opportunities, has been keeping bees, thousands of them, on the property in manmade as well as natural hives as part of a project he calls the Cantigny Bee Barometer.
Promoting a healthy bee population doesn't make the fairways at Cantigny any faster or the greens any more receptive to approach shots. But just like providing what Witte calls "world class golfing conditions" for golfers, providing a safe and healthy environment for bees is the right thing to do for both the insects and the Cantigny complex.
"The project could provide a barometer of the overall health of our environment," Witte said. "A healthy habitat should equal healthy bees. I've made it my mission to prove that world class golf conditions can coexist with honeybees, if both are managed correctly."
Keeping bees also provides a revenue stream through the sale of honey and wax products that keep the program self-sustaining. That revenue stream also helped Witte to recently share his passion by using proceeds from his operation to provide much-needed equipment to the bee club at a high school in Africa.
"Why do there have to be boundaries on outreach?" Witte asked. "It's exciting to connect with kids from another part of the world and expand what we're doing."
Cantigny Park is located on the grounds of the former home of Chicago Tribune magnate Robert R. McCormick, who died in 1955. Prior to his death, McCormick operated an experimental farm on the grounds, and the Tribune regularly published articles on the subject. Since his death, the foundation named in McCormick's honor has operated the property as a horticultural classroom designed to provide educational and recreational opportunities for the people of Illinois.
The course achieved Audubon status in 1993 under former superintendent Tony Rzadzki. Witte began expanding those efforts, partly at the behest of others.
Shortly after he became superintendent he institute a program of installing more than 60 bluebird nesting boxes throughout the golf course and park. The boxes also have been adopted homes of other small songbirds such as wrens, chickadees and swallows. Each year, more than 250 new fledglings are hatched in those boxes.
Cantigny has since implemented a program in 2004 designed to help alleviate the plight of the purple martin. A highly social creature that lives in large colonies, purple martin populations have dwindled in recent years because of non-native predatory starlings that raid martin nests for food, as well as sparrows that overrun the martin's natural nesting areas. As a result, according to the Purple Martin Conservation Association, populations have sunken by as much as 80 percent in some areas.
Helping purple martin populations recover in the Cantigny area was the idea of Ray Feld, an enthusiast who decided while driving past the golf course that the property was perfect habitat for the plighted bird. Feld contacted Witte about establishing a colony at the golf course and volunteers his time to oversee martin populations there as well as at two other sites in Chicago's western suburbs.
As a result of Witte's efforts, Jeff Reiter, Cantigny's media relations professional, conducts monthly bird walks through the park, with each session beginning with a primer on purple martins, their plight and an up-close look inside an active nest (the social martin is not intimidated by human interaction).
Witte similarly got the idea to keep bees at the suggestion of a friend, John Bozonelos.
Like just about everything he does, Witte jumped into beekeeping head first, which requires he don a protective suit when managing the hives. The experience has proven to be a positive one not only for the bees, but for Witte as well.
"(Bozonelos) sparked a passion in me," Witte said. "The first time I set up a hive, I was overwhelmed with the calming effect of thousands of bees swarming. Truth be told, I've surpassed the skills of my mentors, because I love it so much."
Witte maintains about 10 hives on the property, including several near the main entrance to the golf course. He also oversees three natural hives on park property, which have been a source of anxiety for some golfers who sometimes approach him requesting he kills the bees and destroy the hive. Instead, he now is on a local call list to safely capture swarms and remove bee colonies from residential areas. When he does that, he reestablishes those colonies at Cantigny.He has partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on its Bee Aware campaign that records management practices with hopes of one day creating a database that will help beekeepers develop and maintain a set of best management practices just like turf management BMPs, Witte said.
With the honey he and honeycomb he gets from the bees, Witte makes lip balm, beeswax candles and honey that are sold both in the golf course pro shop and the park's gift shop He uses the proceeds to maintain the Bee Barometer project, and continue his honeybee outreach efforts.
Recently, he was approached by Susan Hagberg about expanding his outreach efforts overseas. Hagberg is president of Wild Goose Chase Inc., a migratory bird management program that counts Cantigny among its clients. Hagberg's son works for the EDP Trust which oversees the Awutu-Winton school in Africa, and when she learned of the school's bee club asked whether there was a way Witte could help the students in the quest to learn more about bees and the benefits of pollinators.
Witte was eager to help, and sent three bee suits and smokers to the bee club at Awutu-Winton Senior High School in Ghana, which is located on Africa's west-central coast. Witte has since been besieged with thank-you letters from the grateful students on the other side of the world.
"They are badly undersourced. Who knew that a few bee suits and a couple of smokers would turn into this great relationship with these gracious and ambitious students?" Witte said, who is in discussions with school officials on other ways to promote the students' interest in beekeeping.
Witte promotes environmental stewardship because he believes it is the true future of the game and the industry. He cites a Golf Digest survey in which more than 70 percent of respondents indicated that they prefer to play golf on a course the utilizes native elements rather than one surrounded by houses. His enthusiasm influences how he manages the golf course, and influences not so much what he applies, but where he applies it, being careful not to apply some insecticides near flowering plants that attract pollinators and actively seeking chemistries touted as bee-friendly.
"I want to prove that world class golf conditions and nature can be in harmony with each other," he said. "We pride ourselves on that. We have a saying here 'it's you, the golf course and Mother Nature.'
"Moving forward, I see attitudes like that shaping the future of golf."