Stewart takes Green Links' reins

Green Links, the monthly feature on the website of The Environmental Institute for Golf that highlights case studies housed on that site, has a new host, and it's one familiar to those who pay attention to golf and its relationship with the environment.

Roger Stewart, CGCS at the TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minn., who won the national private course category in the 2009 GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards, has been named the host of that site for 2011. He was succeed Matt Cepelo, CGCS at Rockland Country Club in Sparkill, N.Y., who handled those duties in 2010.

"I look forward to the opportunity to host Green Links and help highlight some of the great environmental stewards in our golf community," Stewart said. "The previous hosts have provided a great foundation and I intend to call upon them, as well as the TPC network of superintendents, as resources to continue adding more case studies. I look forward to a challenging and rewarding experience of highlighting more valuable and helpful environmental information in Golf's Drive Toward Sustainability."

A 35-year member of GCSAA, Stewart has helped to turn his facility, which annually hosts the 3M Championships on the PGA Tour's Champions Tour, into an environmental showcase. He has led efforts to reduce TPC Twin Cities' golf course water usage more than 25 percent since his arrival in 2007, using rain sensors, soil moisture meters and evapotranspiration rates. Stewart has worked to stabilize pond banks, provide a food source for wildlife and increase the quality of the wetland areas at TPC Twin Cities in an effort to establish sustainable wetland ecosystems throughout the property. Through a partnership with the Bluebird Recovery Program, Stewart maintains a bluebird trail consisting of 24 bluebird houses throughout the golf course in addition to duck and bat nesting sites.

The course also utilizes a geothermal environmental control system in the clubhouse that produces energy savings of 50 percent. Stewart contributes a weekly maintenance article to the club's website, as well as a monthly publication in the clubhouse. TPC Twin Cities is a member of the Anoka County Airport Wildlife Commission, conducts Anoka Technical College's horticulture program golf course tours and hosts seminars for John Deere Co. Stewart's staff annually visits a local elementary school to teach fifth graders the basics of turfgrasses and seed biology.

The EIFG website provides information on golf and the environment that in addition to case studies, features relevant best management practices and links to environmental resources. The case studies featured in Green Links provide critical information in a variety of areas, including energy consumption, water consumption, water quality, pollution prevention, and wildlife management.