The findings will shape a new spectator Nature Trail when the Championship arrives at Royal Lytham & St Annes at the end of July

A biodiversity survey at Royal Lytham & St Annes has recorded 333 species across the links course, weeks before it stages the AIG Women’s Open.

The BioBlitz, now in its third year, brought together local wildlife experts, community groups and course staff last month to identify and log species living on the Lancashire venue. It is part of a wider R&A programme looking at the role golf courses can play in supporting biodiversity.

Participants carried out a bat walk, a bird walk, a moth-recording session and a beekeeping demonstration across the course. Among the species logged were a hedgehog, a Puss Moth, a Smaller European Elm Bark Beetle, several gorse-associated invertebrates and a Greenfinch, a red-listed bird species in the UK.

The survey was funded by a donation to the R&A Foundation in memory of Helen Goodman, a former R&A Championships colleague known for her work on nature and sustainability.

Nature trail for spectators

Results from the BioBlitz will feed into fan activities during the Championship, from 29 July to 2 August. A Nature Trail will run alongside a ‘Giving Nature a Home’ activation delivered with the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, focused on red squirrel conservation, where families can decorate feeders that will later be used for monitoring.

Royal Lytham & St Annes follows Carnoustie Golf Links and Lindrick Golf Club in hosting a BioBlitz, with further events planned at future AIG Women’s Open venues.

For further news on the AIG Women’s open click here