The Land
The 230 acres of land comprising The Georgian Bay Club is located within the Niagara Escarpment. In 1990, the Niagara Escarpment was designated a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. This landscape, comprising an ancient alluvial plain, is rich in biodiversity, vital watersheds and a 450-million-year-old history. A key objective for the Club, the Niagara Escarpment Commission, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority, was preserving the water in the creeks and streams and enhancing all the rainbow trout spawning grounds. To this end, the Club has exceeded the guidelines provided by all of these organizations.
When the value of the land in the context of building a sustainable development was identified, the Club moved forward to meet the needs of the golf course development while at the same time preserving the environment. This sustainable development direction meant the majority of materials used to build the golf course were mined on site, reducing the negative impact of trucking materials to and from the site. This included the 'B' gravel to build the roads, the weathered shale to line the storm water management ponds, the granite boulders to identify hole sight lines, the bedding sand for irrigation, and the screened top soil. In addition to enhancing Turkey Island, the northern most release point for wild turkeys in North America, all the underground springs have been tied into the streams and creeks to maintain their base flow so to protect the existing rainbow trout spawning grounds.