PBS featured Lonnie Poole Golf Course on UNC-TV show Sci NC: Frogs, Butterflies, Sharks, oh my! on October 3, 2019.
The 20-minute program explored ecosystems across the Carolinas that support a variety of habitats. Lonnie Poole Golf Course was featured at minute 17:30, showcasing the efforts the course has made, in partnership with BASF to create a haven for Monarch butterflies.
According to Frank Graff, the TV show’s host, BASF’s Living Acres Program has expanded to include more than 100 golf courses nationwide, with Lonnie Poole being one of them. Fifty acres of the golf course were planted with milkweed and other wildflowers that are essential for Monarch butterflies to lay their eggs and feed. Caterpillars rely on milkweed as their sole source of food before they cocoon, hatch and continue their annual migration between northern North America and South America.
Brian Green, director and golf course maintenance at Loonie Poole, said the university planted 750 milkweed plants at different locations throughout the golf course. Regular golfers can spot the increase in monarch butterflies due to these plants.
“It’s been a home run and everyone loved it,” Green reported. “There’s a group of players that have an email chain going around about the monarchs that are coming through.”
The increase in flowers overall at Lonnie Poole has also impacted other insects who collect pollen according to Harold Coble, agronomist and professor emeritus at NC State.
“We get a twofold success story,” Coble said. “Pollinator health is also a big issue, and the wildflowers we planted are really big on pollinators using that to collect the pollen.”
The feature can be viewed online at https://www.pbs.org/video/frogs-butterflies-sharks-oh-my-egj7np/