Nature Conservation at Gleneagles
Golf at Gleneagles complements the work of Nature as the resort's environmental protection policies provide a safe haven for rare and valuable flora and fauna.
The Gleneagles courses enjoy good natural drainage on an upland plateau in Strathearn, the valley between the Ochil Hills and the Grampian Mountains which was formed by a glacier 15-20,000 years ago.
Gleneagles works closely with Scottish Natural Heritage on all developments within the 850 acre estate, which has 23 areas designated as sites of scientific interest (SSIs) and one site of special scientific interest (SSSI) at the right side of the 5th/15th tees on the King's Course.
A world-leading integrated ecological management plan preserves and enhances the matchless beauty and wildlife of the Gleneagles estate. The plan is divided into five areas, covering each of the three golf courses with a fourth for The Gleneagles Shooting and Fishing School and The Gleneagles Equestrian Centre and a fifth for the formal gardens and Laich Loch. Each plan is tailor made to the special needs of the area, identifying the most important features and short and long term objectives.
Since the plan was introduced, wildlife has flourished on the estate and around the golf courses.
- Swans on the Laich Loch have built the biggest nest seen at Gleneagles for 22 years and rear families of cygnets each year.
- Long-eared owls nest next to the pumphouse at the PGA Centenary Course
- A buzzard is also nesting on the estate
- Thirty pairs of seagulls are in residence on the Loch-an-Eerie and unusually, four pairs of seagulls are nesting in trees surrounding the loch.
The most important features of the King's are heather, grassland and deep bogs or mires, including The White Water, a bog mire near the 5th and 15th holes which is a rare and valuable habitat containing plant life including Southern Marsh Orchids, Cranberry and Bog Cotton and a wide diversity of insect life, and which has been designated a site of special scientific interest.
