First Green Lesson Plan 3 - Soils on the golf course

Introduction
Golf courses are community green spaces that provide recreational and environmental benefits to local areas. Golf courses are large parcels of land covered with turf, trees and other vegetation. Collectively, they provide wildlife habitat, improve air quality, reduce noise and dust, absorb and filter surface water, recharge ground water supplies, and in many cases, are used to reclaim and restore environmentally damaged sites.
For greenkeepers it is important to know the type of soil found on the golf course. Different soil types contain different minerals, levels of organic matter and nutrients which affect how the turf and other vegetation grows. It also affects how much water is retained in the soil. Water quickly drains away from soils containing a lot of sand. Whereas soil containing a lot of clay retains water and quickly becomes water-logged. Based on the soil type on a golf course, greenkeepers might grow certain plants or take steps to increase or decrease the soil’s water retention.

In this session pupils are introduced to different soil types containing high levels of the minerals found in soil: clay, sand and silt. They are going to feel them and then investigate how easily each soil type allows water to pass through it.
 

Pupil Learning Objectives
By the end of the session pupils will be able to:

• state that soil contains minerals, water, organic matter, air and microscopic organisms
• » name the three main minerals found in soil: clay, sand, and silt
• » make a simple soil filtration device to test how well water is retained in different soil types