Golf Course Superintendents Honor Native Bird Promoter

Golf course superintendents in Florida have further underlined their commitment to environmental stewardship by honoring the work of former superintendent-turned-birder, Brian Beckner. Beckner is the founder and operator of Native Bird Boxes, an Estero-based business that promotes native bird populations in urban green spaces including golf courses. He received the Marie Roberts Lifetime Service Award from the Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association in May.

The award recognizes individuals whose participation, support and achievements have made significant contributions to the Florida GCSA and Florida golf industry.

“Brian’s work helps golf courses be even better at what they are already doing,” Florida GCSA president Ryan Swilley, CGCS, from The Dye Preserve Golf Club in Jupiter, says. “Every golf course provides bird habitat. Thanks to Brian, more and more of them now provide a fine-tuned habitat that actively promotes native species. And Brian has a special gift for bringing nature into focus with his expertise and infectious personality.”

In his work advocating for native bird species, Beckner also beats the drum for golf course superintendents. On bird tours and speaking with golfers and club members, he explains some of the education and qualifications necessary to become a superintendent and the strict environmental rules they must follow. “I tell people that golf course superintendents are greater eco-servants to their environment and this world than they could ever know,” he says.

A lifelong golfer, Beckner first worked on a golf course in Texas and, like so many superintendents, immediately fell in love with the idea of marrying his passions for golf and the outdoors into a career. He moved to Florida in 1997 and until 2013 worked in golf course maintenance, first at the Club at Pelican Bay, then as golf course superintendent at La Playa Golf Club. In 2009-2010, he served as president of the Everglades Golf Course Superintendents Association.

Over that time, he got to know George McBath, an ornithologist who worked with golf courses. McBath’s influence eventually led Beckner to launch his own business building nesting boxes for native bird species. Beckner’s busiest period coincides with the peak of the Florida golf season, running from November through the end of April.

In addition to installing bird houses, he works with superintendents to present birding and wildlife tours on golf course properties. He is a regular speaker at superintendent meetings and also helps lead a golf course visit during the EPA’s annual Spring Regulatory Tour, educating regulators and lawmakers on golf course maintenance practices and standards.

“We are extremely grateful for what Brian brings to the golf industry and his service to the environment in Florida,” Swilley says. “He has taken the passion that all superintendents share for the environment and turned it into his cause and his career. So, we are proud of him as well.”