Annual Audubon Day

How has this idea enhanced your club's operation, etc.?

Paradise Valley Country Club is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses is an award-winning education and certification program that helps golf courses protect our environment and preserve the natural heritage of the game of golf. The mission of Audubon International is to deliver high-quality environmental education to facilitate the sustainable management of land, water, wildlife, and other natural resources in all places people live, work, and play.

Each year, PVCC holds an Annual Audubon Day in order to continue educating and informing our membership regarding the Club's honored Audubon Sanctuary distinction. This family-oriented event includes activities and displays designed to showcase all that the Club is doing to protect and improve our environment. Through our relationships with Liberty Wildlife, the Southwest Valley Boy Scouts and the Desert Botanical Garden, PVCC is able to use this event as a fun and exciting opportunity to emphasize the importance of wildlife and its habitat in our surrounding area.

Paradise Valley Country Club has joined Monarchs in the Rough, a partnership between the Environmental Defense Fund and Audubon International, to help fight the population decline of Monarch butterflies. The goal of this partnership is to fight habitat loss of Monarch butterflies by planting milkweed in out-of-play areas on our golf course. As part of Audubon Day, Desert Botanical Garden is on-site helping families plant their own milkweed and educating our Members regarding how individuals can help the Monarch butterfly thrive.

How was this idea implemented, and what have been the club members' reactions?

Spearheaded by our Audubon Committee and Assistant Superintendent, the initiative to pursue the certification of a Cooperative Sanctuary began in 2009. Over the next seven years, the Club aggressively set forth to obtain the required certifications. Upon receiving this distinction, Paradise Valley Country Club committed to hosting this event on an annual basis to promote our stewardship to the environment. The Membership has taken great pride and ownership in this project and looks forward to Audubon Day each year.

PVCC’s Audubon Committee is partnered with:

Liberty Wildlife
• Promoting wild life education, conservation and rehabilitation in Arizona by bringing their birds of prey and releasing a Cooper’s Hawk back into the wild

Southwest Valley Boy Scouts
• Developing a nature trail with nesting boxes and desert plant information plaques

Desert Botanical Garden
• Establishing and maintaining a Milkweed Garden to provide habitat for the endangered Monarch butterfly and planting milkweed with members’ families