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Between holes 5 and 6 at Boca Delray Golf and Country Club off Military Trial, golfers will find something other than golf balls flying through the air.
"Next thing you know, you’ve got tons of butterflies flying around," said Joseph Hubbard, golf course superintendent.
Two weeks ago, Hubbard planted a butterfly garden along the golf course in order to attract butterflies, bees, dragonflies, and hummingbirds, all important pollinators in our ecosystem.
"Not only beautifying this golf course but beautifying this whole community," he said.
The garden is part of Monarchs in the Rough, funded through Audubon International and the Environmental Defense Fund.
"We start doing things like this, building up the community. It’s not just the Boca Delray community. We’ll be part of the whole hub of bee highways, butterfly highways and things like that," Hubbard said.
Hundreds of golf courses across the United States participate in Monarchs in the Rough by creating habitats for butterflies in off-play areas. Monarchs in the Rough says the population of the Monarch butterfly has decreased more than 90 percent over the last two decades.
"We are working to create essential habitat for butterflies and increase awareness of the golf sector’s contribution to the monarch conservation challenge," according to the group's website.
Golf courses are a natural fit for the cause, according to Hubbard.
"You’ll find that most golf course superintendents are naturalists," he said.
Other area golf courses listed as participants on the Monarchs in the Rough website are St. Andrews Club in Delray Beach, Eastpointe Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, The Yacht and Country Club in Stuart, and The Moorings at Hawk Nest in Vero Beach.
