Biodiversity Management Plan

What is a Biodiversity Management Plan?

The purpose of a Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) is to identify, protect and manage native vegetation and fauna habitat.

Royal Sydney has worked with ecological consultants, Cumberland Ecology, to develop a schedule of impact mitigation measures along with ongoing conservation, restoration and maintenance activities for the flora and fauna to be retained on the site, as well as the tasks, procedures and methods to achieve this.

Download the Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP)

The Biodiversity Management Plan can be downloaded by clicking on the link to the right.

BMP Vision Statement

Recent ecological research on golf courses in southern Australia has confirmed the high biodiversity values of golf courses and has illustrated that native vertebrate and invertebrate fauna respond very well to regeneration and active management of native or planted native vegetation (Threlfall et al. 2014, Threlfall et al. 2015, Mata et al. 2017, Threlfall et al. 2017).

Royal Sydney acknowledges these findings and have incorporate d into future plans to manage the golf course.

In 2022 the golf course was approved for renovation and landscape rehabilitation. An integral part of that work will entail much of the grassland “rough” beneath and around trees being replaced by plantings of native heathland species and other native plant species. Thirteen hectares of land will transform to heathland, while other substantial areas of the course will be planted out with thousands of additional native trees. Mowing, fertiliser application and watering will cease in these areas.
As part of the planning for the renovation and landscape rehabilitation the RSGC developed a vision for landscape renovation using local native plant species to create a more sustainable, biodiverse landscape and provide players with a more challenging golf course experience. Future management will actively promote and provide for native wildlife. Mowing, watering and fertiliser application will be unnecessary amid groves of trees and heathland plantings, significantly boosting habitat available for an increased array of fauna, including native invertebrates, frogs, reptiles, birds and bats.
Biodiversity will be actively promoted and managed in perpetuity following prescriptions in this Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP). The renovated golf course will retain most of the existing trees though some trees must be removed to allow for new native plantings.

Royal Sydney’s Championship Course will transform through active management to be a haven for a wide variety of native flora and fauna.

Objectives of the Biodiversity Management Plan

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The purpose of the BMP is to prescribe measures for the long-term management and enhancement of native flora and fauna, and trees on the Royal Sydney Golf Course.
The objectives of the BMP include:

1.

Existing Vegetation

  • Description of the existing vegetation and ecological values within the golf course.

2.

Setting Goals

  • Setting clear, measurable goals for the long-term management of flora and fauna on the golf course.

3.

Guidelines for Replanting

  • Guiding the replanting of areas of heathland and other native vegetation.

4.

Retained Mature Trees

  • Provisions for the stewardship of retained mature trees incorporating best-practice Arboricultural measures.

5.

Guidelines for Replacement Planting

  • Guiding the replacement plantings of new trees, including the identification of poorly performing new trees and allowing for their replacement with the same species.

6.

Protection Measures

  • Prescription of measures to protect and enhance habitat for native vertebrate and invertebrate fauna on the golf course.

7.

Monitoring and Reporting

  • Prescription of monitoring and reporting requirements to ensure that the measures implemented for flora and fauna are effective

8.

Responsibilities

  • Outlining responsibilities for works outlined in the Biodiversity Management Plan.

9.

Review of Plan

  • Provision of a timetable for review and updating of the Biodiversity Management Plan.

PROPOSED NEW COURSE

Course Master Plan

This diagram shows the proposed layout of the new golf course.

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This diagram illustrates all trees currently existing on the property. 

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This diagram illustrates the trees proposed to be removed from the property.

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This diagram illustrates all new trees to be planted.

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This diagram illustrates all trees on the property at the completion of the project.

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