Truly green fairways: Sudbury golf club strives to be an environmental haven for humans and wildlife.

• Author: McKinley, Karen
• Position: Green Report

Golf courses look like they should be part of nature, but the owner of Sixth Avenue Golf and Country Club says he and his staff make sure it truly is a natural beauty, welcoming humans and animals alike.

The nine-hole executive golf course in Lively is a peaceful haven just minutes from downtown Sudbury, featuring a cozy dining room, patio, gardens and challenging fairways.

On the surface it looks like a typical golf club, but co-owner Rod Jouppi says he and his wife strive to make it a model of an ecological business.

"My wife, Mary, and I bought this golf course approximately 20 years ago and at the time, I was very aware of the negative environmental effects that golf courses could have due to the use of pesticides, chemicals and excessive water use," he stated in an email. "I have always treated wildlife and so have a strong focus on the environment as well as animal welfare issues."

A veterinarian for 40 years, he said he had a keen interest in making the course as environmentally friendly as possible. The course is part of the Audubon Society. Jouppi explained that before revamping the golf course, they focused on how to do things better environmentally. They used natural pond surrounds with bull rushes--to clean any residues going into pond systems and ensure clean water returned to the river system--proper drainage and irrigation, along with the best choice of grasses in order to minimize water needs.

"Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses has been assisting golf courses in their efforts to blend environmentally responsible maintenance practices into day-to-day golf course operations. We minimized the use of chemicals and kept the width of fairways to proper design in order to provide natural areas for wildlife," he stated. "We have very healthy turtle and frog populations (many of these species are at risk in Canada). Our golf course is designed after the traditional Scottish design and golf as it should be, an interaction between golf and nature."

In order to adhere to the society's standards, Sixth Avenue has to attest to having input to all these areas. As it moves to the next level of membership, the course is undergoing detailed surveys of plant and wildlife species on the golf course property as well as detailed reports of all chemical and water use.

The course has also played host to the release of rehabilitated wildlife treated at Wild at Heart, a centre founded by Jouppi located on land he donated next to...