You may not think golf and wildlife go hand in hand, but Fife Golf Trust (FGT) are proving that when people and nature come together, the benefits are boundless. In today’s blog we explore the impact of FGT’s Seven Golf Courses for Nature project.

Fife Golf Trust manages seven municipal golf courses covering 544 hectares of Fife, and we had a desire to achieve something significant for biodiversity, creating vibrant greenspace for wildlife as well as people.

The courses have huge potential to support a range of habitats and play a part in nature restoration. As much as our business is focused on golf, there’s no reason why we can’t manage these wonderful greenspaces sensitively and create a balanced landscape which supports both recreation and wildlife conservation. We believe that nature can have as much of a positive impact on health and wellbeing as the game of golf can – together they can have an even greater one.

Species rich grasslands and woodlands bordering the fairway and greens.
Credit Fife Golf Trust.

With a strong focus on sustainable golf management and environmental sustainability, Fife Golf Trust became one of the first multi-site venues to achieve internationally recognised GEO (Golf Environment Organisation) certified status in 2017. In 2022, the Trust started developing an ambitious and exciting landscape-scale nature restoration project and, a year later, was absolutely delighted to be awarded a grant from the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, managed by NatureScot.

Over the following 18 months the dedicated team of David Gray (FGT Golf Courses Manager), Johanna Willi (Edelweiss Consulting), Heather Young (FGT Conservation Officer) as well as FGT Greenstaff and willing volunteers embarked on creating, connecting, and enhancing habitat across all seven golf courses, improving and conserving biodiversity over 28 hectares.

Pond and wetland creation at Auchterderran Golf Course credit Fife Golf Trust.

This included planting more than 10,000 trees to create almost nine hectares of new woodland, improving wildlife and habitat connectivity across the courses. Large swathes of rough grassland were brought into meadow management to encourage wildflowers, pollinators, and other wildlife to flourish, totalling over 17 hectares. Three new ponds and five wetland mosaics were established, with birdlife, dragonflies and damselflies, newts and other animals spotted within the first year. More than a kilometre of hedgerows were planted as wildlife corridors. Each course got a new bee bank. And last but not least, two highly manicured, straight sided, eroding watercourses were naturalised by introducing meanders, gentle bankings and natural vegetation.

Introducing gentle banks and remeandering the straight, narrow ditches at Glenrothes Golf Course. Credit Fife Golf Trust.

The Trust also removed two kilometres of redundant fencing to allow wildlife to move across the courses more freely, and installed five barn owl boxes, two tawny owl boxes and 28 bat boxes.

Just some of the wildlife spotted at Fife’s nature-rich golf courses.
Credit Fife Golf Trust

The results? Rich, multi-functional spaces for wildlife and people. The works were carried out by existing staff members, and we employed the skills and knowledge of a dedicated conservation worker to help us achieve the benefits. The Trust subsequently retained the staff member to help with wider projects, and we are seeking further funding to sustain this important post.

Through the project, the Trust was keen to engage the local community wherever possible, including golf club members and season ticket holders, primary school children, college students, and members of the public. Over 120 volunteers took part in tree planting, wetland creation, and fence removal, totalling an impressive 355 hours of work.

Seven Golf Courses for Nature scooped the Business for Nature award at the NoSAs in November 2025. Credit Fife Golf Trust.

We completed the project works in March 2025, and now the Trust is working to manage its new habitats while they establish to make sure they fully develop into rich, biodiverse wildlife spaces.

Fife Golf Trust thanks everyone who took part in this exciting programme, from volunteers and school children to staff and the continued support of Fife Council, as well as NatureScot and the Scottish Government.

David Gray is Golf Courses Manager at Fife Golf Trust.