Bold Initiative at Manor Park
By Martin Davidson
Manor Park have marked their
centenary by embarking on an
ambitious environmental project
to safeguard the club’s
future.
convinced Wallace that the key
to Manor Park creating their
own identity was simply to take
advantage of what they already
had. “I thought we should be able
to leverage that asset to rebrand
ourselves.’’
A major rebranding plan was
unveiled during the centenary
celebrations late last month, with
the Hutt Valley club now to be
known as Manor Park Golf
Sanctuary.
The get-back-to-nature theme
strikes a chord at a time when
environmental issues are
increasingly important to those
Wallace hopes will be club members
of the future.
Nestled beside the Hutt River
between Upper and Lower Hutt, the
Manor Park course has long been
home to a wide variety of birdlife,
and the name change signals
the club’s intent to build on their
natural resources.
“The way they are being educated
in schools and the growing
consciousness of the environment,
the generations of the future are
going to make leisure decisions
based on companies that
have a consciousness of their
environmental footprint.’’ Hence,
the club’s name change. But it goes
much deeper than that.
The project has been 2-1/2 years in
the making, with general manager
Steve Wallace a driving force as he
readies the Manor Park membership
for their next 100 years. Manor Park
operate in a crowded market place,
with the Te Marua, Royal Wellington,
Trentham, Shandon, Boulcott’s
Farm Heritage, Judgeford and
Wainuiomata clubs all within a short
distance of one another.
Wallace considers it crucial that
Manor Park differentiate themselves
from the others, and what better
way to do it than by emphasising
and building on the venue’s natural
characteristics.
“I felt we needed to create a niche,
to distinguish ourselves from the
rest of the pack,’’ Wallace told Golfer
Pacific NZ.
New York, which runs a programme
to help landowners preserve
and enhance the environmental
quality of their property. By
joining the society, Manor Park
will be involved in projects that
enhance habitat for wildlife and
preserve natural resources. These
may include maintaining nesting
boxes for birds, utilising integrated
pest management techniques,
conserving water and maintaining
food and cover for wildlife.
Manor Park have committed to
reducing their use of chemicals and
water, change grasses and develop
more wetlands and habitat areas.
As well, Manor Park have formed
a close relationship with the New
Zealand Forest & Bird Society, which
has made plantings on the property
to create a corridor for migrating
birds.
Manor Park undertook an
environmental compliance audit
by the New Zealand Sports Turf
Institute 2-1/2 years ago and
have subscribed to Project LiteClub,
which helps clubs reduce their
environmental footprint.
All in all, the initiatives add up to a
major undertaking, and one Wallace
is proud of. “It’s about us creating a
niche for ourselves in the market,’’
he said. “The natural resources
we have are the land, the natural
setting, the water environment
and the birdlife.’’
“They’ve come in and changed
all the light bulbs around the
clubhouse, put lagging around our )