Christine Kane

Individuals who work in the turf industry share the desire to protect and enhance the environment. That shared desire helps make the bond between the industry and Audubon International such a strong one.

Since its founding 35 years ago, Audubon International, headquartered in Troy, New York, has been committed to sustaining and protecting the environment, and helping businesses, including golf facilities, do the same.

Christine Kane is the organization’s CEO. In an appearance on the Wonderful Women of Golf podcast with Rick Woelfel, she offered an overview of its mission.

“In a nutshell, our goal is to create stable environments in all the areas where we all live, work and play,” she says. “To accomplish that mission, we use a variety of tools, including technical assistance and certification for businesses that have properties they need to manage so they can manage them in a more sustainable way.”

Although Kane has never worked on a golf course and no longer plays golf, she has an abiding respect for those who work in turf and their commitment to the environment, a commitment she says has become more entrenched during her six years in the executive director’s role.

“I was very impressed with the opinions and knowledge of the folks that were already working in the golf industry. I would say a lot has happened in six years, not the least of which was the pandemic when people recognized the need to have nature close enough that they could be outside when they needed to.”

Kane is pleased about the emphasis turf professionals place on managing their facilities in an environmentally responsible fashion.

“Many current golf superintendents, as well as those who are coming out of school and want to get into the industry, are very in tune with the need to increase sustainable management of the courses and the out of play areas that surround them,” she says.

Kane notes the number of jobs available in the turf industry for those with environmental sensibilities.

“There are a lot of job opportunities in the broad context of environmental work,” she says, “and I think that golf can certainly play a role or provide opportunities for folks who are looking for that work option with an environmental approach.

“That was another thing that I was happily surprised about when I came to this job, the number of new entrants into the golf world through the turfgrass programs, recent assistant superintendents, maintenance-team members, that came to the industry through that route.”

Audubon International’s association with the golf industry extends more than three decades to the creation of the organization’s Cooperative Sanctuary program. Around 2,300 golf courses are affiliated with the program in three dozen countries. Each is charged with developing its own plan for protecting the environment, taking into account its individual circumstances, including available personnel and budget.

For a golf facility, aligning with Audubon International is not merely a matter of signing up.

“You have to do an environmental plan,” Kane adds. “You have to understand your baseline and see where you are before you know what you can do to move forward.”

The environmental plan is just the first step in the process. “There are five other steps that you can do in any order,” Kane says. The steps include chemical use reduction, water conservation, water-quality issues, wildlife habitat, and outreach and education.

The outreach and education component makes Audubon International unique, according to Kane. “Actually, that is something I think that sets our program apart from many other types of certification out there,” she says. “No matter what type of certification program you’re working on with us, we do require outreach and education.”