The Environmental Stewardship Toolkit: How to Build, Implement and Maintain an Environmental Plan for Grounds and Golf Courses

ANTHONY L. WILLIAMS, CGCS, CGM, is Director of Grounds, Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort, Stone Mountain Inn, and Stone Mountain Golf Club in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He is a Certified Golf Course Superintendent, Certified Grounds Manager, Certified Arborist, and graduate of the GCSAA in the Environmental Management Program. Mr. Williams is the recipient of the 2010 GCSAA President's Award for Environmental Stewardship, a frequent contributor to many green industry publications, and is the environmental editor for Golfdom magazine. He was the 2011 Environmental Communicator of the Year for the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association.

Foreword xi Acknowledgments xiii SECTION 1 Environmental Management 1 Chapter 1: Building a Green Team 3 How to Establish an Environmental Committee 3 Where Do You Look to Begin Filling Positions in Your Committee? 4 How Many People Should Be on Your Environmental Committee? 9 Summary 10 Chapter 2: The Environmental Plan: Site Assessment 11 The Site Assessment 12 Site Assessment Features for Golf Courses 16 Summary 17 Chapter 3: The Environmental Plan: Agronomic Programs 19 Soil Structure and Edaphology 19 Essential Elements to "All" Plant Growth 21 Soil Samples and Soil Testing 23 Tissue Samples 25 Cultural Practices for Turf 26 What Is a Carbon Footprint and Why Is It Mentioned Here? 33 Summary 35 Chapter 4: The Environmental Plan: Water Quality and Conservation 37 Water Basics 37 Water Quality Programs and Strategies 38 Summary 53 Chapter 5: The Environmental Plan: Wildlife and Habitat Management 55 Developing a Wildlife Inventory 55 Guidelines for Enhancing and Maintaining Wildlife Habitat 64 Summary 66 Chapter 6: The Environmental Plan: Integrated Pest Management 67 Protecting Agronomic Assets through IPM 67 Summary 82 Section One: Environmental Management Conclusions 82 Action Steps: Green, Greener, Greenest 83 SECTION 2 Resource Management 85 Chapter 7: Accounting and Financial Processes 87 The Accounting Equation 88 Specifi c Financial Documents 89 Using Comparative Reports 94 Summary 98 Chapter 8: Budget Reduction and Contingency Strategies 99 Environmental Programs That Cut Expenses and Protect Assets 99 Partnerships Increase The Effectiveness of Recycling Programs 104 Summary 114 Chapter 9: Human Resources Management 115 Employee Recruitment and Hiring Practices 116 Achieving More with Less 121 Safety Programs and Resource Management 122 Summary 129 Section Two: Resource Management Conclusions 132 Action Steps: Green, Greener, Greenest 132 SECTION 3 Environomic Community Engagement and Green Public Relations 135 Chapter 10: Environomic Community Engagement 137 The Role of the Green Industry Professional in an Environomic Community Engagement Program 138 Simple Steps for Starting an Environomic Community Engagement Program 139 Summary 144 Chapter 11: Public Relations and the Green Industry Professional 145 Communicating to and with Target Audiences 145 Public Relations and the Green Industry Professional 148 Creating a "Beyond the Property" Program 150 Crafting Your Story 152 Ten Steps to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Beyond the Property Public Relations Program 155 Summary 156 Chapter 12: Photography's Role in Green Public Relations 157 Digital Camera Facts for the Green Industry Professional 160 Learning Another Language (or Two) 171 The Future of Community Engagement 173 Summary 174 Section Three: Environomic Community Engagement And Green Public Relations Conclusions 174 Action Steps: Green, Greener, Greenest 174 SECTION 4 Documentation Management 177 Chapter 13: Essential Green Industry Documentation 179 How Do I Begin to Create a Personal Documentation List? 180 Transforming Your Personal Documentation List into a Personal Documentation Program 182 Documentation: Tools of the Trade 184 The Daily Work Log 185 Weather Reports 188 Agronomic Reports and Documentation 191 Water Quality Tests 193 Disease and Nematode Sampling 195 Chemical Application Records 195 The Right to Know Center and Safety Training Documents 198 Licenses and Miscellaneous Documents 202 Summary 202 Chapter 14: Case Study Documentation and Uses 203 What Exactly Does a Case Study Look Like? 204 Environmentally Focused Documentation: the Building Blocks of Case Studies 216 Water Use and Irrigation Doc