2023
A biodiversity audit of the Old Course at Walton Heath was undertaken in 2022 highlighted 175 different species. This included 12 Species of Principal Importance, such as small heath butterfly and brown long-eared bat (also a European Protected Species), and five birds of conservation concern: two red listed, and three amber listed.
11 notable plant species were also recorded, including all three native heathers: common heather, bell heather and cross-leaved heather, all of which are Near Threatened in England. The greenkeepers at Walton Heath painstakingly manage areas of nationally important lowland heathland and acid grassland across the golf courses to ensure that these habitats support a diverse range of wildlife, as evidenced by the audit. The surrounding woodlands are also managed, where necessary, to improve their structure for flora and fauna. The biodiversity audit highlighted several species which are unique to the habitats present at Walton Heath, such as bee wolf, and so in the future further surveys to understand more about this notable species will be undertaken.
