You possess a wealth of expertise in environmental stewardship, technical knowledge about managing water quality, animal habitat, soils, plants and grasses. Students in your community can benefit when you share this knowledge with them. GCSAA staff members Leann Cooper and David Phipps will help you learn what it takes to launch your own First Green field trip program during this 60-minute webinar.
- Hear how to use the lesson plans and other resources provided by First Green
- Learn ways to involve the club general manager and others for a successful field trip that will not impact play
- Get tips on connecting with your local school(s) and partnering with teachers for a successful event
- Use your First Green program to meet the community outreach requirement for certification by Audubon International
- Demonstrate and communicate the environmental stewardship of golf courses
First Green is an innovative education outreach program using golf courses as hands-on environmental learning labs. Golf course superintendents, course staff and/or local industry representatives host students on field trips using lesson plans and resources that highlight the community and environmental benefits of golf courses and introduce a new audience to the game.
Developed in 1997, First Green is now part of GCSAA and its 501(c)3 Foundation, the Environmental Institute for Golf.
Original presentation date: Oct. 3, 2018 Education points: 0.1
This course was Live captioned when recorded.
About the Instructors
Leann Cooper is Senior Manager, Chapter Services for GCSAA. She is focused on creating and delivering programs and services that GCSAA affiliated chapters need to be successful. Cooper works with the affiliated chapters on association management and governance issues and is part of the team that creates leadership programming for chapter leaders and executives. Cooper earned her bachelor’s in Art History from the University of Kansas and is an active member of the American Society of Association Executives, recently serving on the Component Relations Section Council. Cooper is excited to be a part of the First Green program’s transition to GCSAA and helped teach the seminar at GIS in San Diego in Feb. 2019.
David Phipps is GCSAA’s Field Staff in the Northwest U.S. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture and Turf & Landscape Management from Oregon State University. Phipps was a golf course superintendent at Stone Creek Golf Club in Oregon and a GCSAA member since 1999. He is a past president of the Oregon GCSA Chapter and in 2009 he received both the ELGA National Public award, as well being named the Oregon Golf Association Superintendent of the Year. Phipps also is the 2012 recipient of the GCSAA President’s Award. He has considerable experience with the First Green program and helped teach the seminar at GIS in San Diego in Feb. 2019
