September 21, 2015

First Green and the U.S. Open

After an exciting U.S. Open in June near our headquarters, which brought First Green international exposure, we are excited for the start of the school year and our upcoming field trips! Read on for our latest news.

First Green Foundation Formalizes Expansion to Western Canada

First Green Foundation formalized its relationship with the Western Canada Turfgrass Association (WCTA), through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed August 24 after a successful train-the-trainer event held at the Redwoods Golf Course in Langley, BC.

The MOU comes after a more than a year of the two groups’ efforts introducing Western Canadian golf course superintendents to this unique program that brings environmental education to students in grades 5 and up using golf courses as environmental learning labs.

Karen Armstead, First Green executive director, said after the signing, “First Green will do very well in Canada because of WCTA members’ commitment to sharing the benefits of golf courses for communities. We are excited to see First Green flourish in this environment.” [more]

First Green Webinars Expand Training Reach

Karen Armstead and Cathy Relyea presented, "Partnering with Golf Courses," to National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) members in a June 18, 2015 webinar. The webinar was recorded and can be replayed. NACD members offer potential partnerships to golf course superintendents. On November 12, Karen and Cathy will be presenting a webcast, “Hosting a First Green Field Trip,” to the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

Schedule Field Trips

Teachers, before you get too busy, please reach out to your local golf course superintendent to schedule field trips. Teachers and golf course superintendents - please let us know when you’ve scheduled field trips so we can add them to the field trip calendar on our website.

If you can’t find the contact information previously provided , let us know and we’ll put you back in touch with a golf course or your teacher.

Contact us with your field trip date(s). Find a local golf course and sign up for a field trip. 

Justin Ruiz Receives Kudos from Teacher

Dick O’Connor, Biology teacher at Pope John Paul II High School in Lacey, Wash., writes, “Our school had a First Green outing on April 29 hosted by Justin Ruiz of Indian Summer Country Club in Olympia. I am so VERY impressed with Justin's hard work and unexcelled follow-up. I had my sophomore Biology students each send him a short thank you note which mentioned one of the things they learned about grasses and root systems. Justin read all 21 notes and hand-wrote 21 replies, in each case incorporating the aspect each student mentioned in their original note. When they arrived in my classroom in a large envelope, we were shocked. Lesson learned? That there are still people out there who believe in communicating with students and rewarding them for showing good manners (or ‘professionalism’ in more modern jargon). I nominate Justin Ruiz as First Green Host of the Year!”


Congratulations, Justin!
Justin Ruiz, Golf Course Superintendent at Indian Summer Country Club


Superintendent Training Videos Released

First Green is building a training library, accessible via streaming video on its YouTube channel. One video shows Steve Kealy leading training on Math on the Golf Course. See the video and the lesson plan, Calculating the Square Footage of an Irregular Space. Another video features Larry Gilhuly showing golf course superintendents how he shares Technology on the Golf Course with students.

Upcoming Events

  • Presenting to the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association in Linville, N.C. (October 5-6, 2015)
  • Presenting to the International Association of Golf Administrators in Monterey Bay, Calif. (November 11, 2015)
  • Golf Course Superintendents Association webinar presentation (November 12, 2015)
  • Offering a workshop at the Golf Industry Show in San Diego, Calif. (February 16-11, 2016)
  • Presenting at the Western Canada Turfgrass Association annual meeting in Whistler, BC (Feb. 23- 25, 2016)

Did You Know?

  • First Green is an innovative environmental education outreach program using golf courses as environmental learning labs – the only program of its kind. We have extensive resources for golf course superintendents, including online lesson plans.
  • We have been providing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning since 1997.
  • Golf course superintendents and/or local golf course representatives host students on field trips where they test water quality, collect soil samples, identify plants, design plantings, assist in stream bed restoration and are involved in the ecology and environmental aspects of the golf course. The students are also introduced to many other aspects of golf.  


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