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Smart dude named recipient of Intelligent Use of Water award
1 Jan, 2009 By: Larry Aylward LM Direct!Christopher S. Gray Sr. is one of those people who seems to know something about everything, from politics and economics to the rankings in college football's Bowl Championship Series. Gray, the general manager and superintendent of the Marvel Golf Club in Benton, Ky.,also knows something about efficient golf course irrigation. That's why he was recently named the 2008 recipient of Rain Bird's Intelligent Use of Water Award.
 Rain Bird’s Dave Johnson presents a check to Christopher S. Gray Sr. |
On Oct. 11 in sunny Southern California, Gray received his award — and a $10,000 check — during a special event at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, which also celebrated winners of Rain Bird's Intelligent Use of Water Film Competition. That competition, in its second year, featured some very cool and creative short films from filmmakers that focused on responsible water use, including narrative, documentary, animated and experimental productions that explored methods and ideas "to manage and utilize Earth's most precious resource more responsibly," according to the contest's guidelines.
Back to Gray and what his award means to the golf course maintenance industry. For starters, few people outside the golf course industry realize that superintendents strive to be responsible water users. In fact, many non-golfers believe that golf courses just turn on the sprinklers and let them run, not caring how much water they use as long as their courses are lush, thick and vibrant green.
Gray's winning of the award will hopefully help change that thinking, especially considering that Gray outshined some stiff competition, including: The Council on the Environment of New York City, a nonprofit group committed to increasing environmental awareness among New Yorkers and developing practical solutions to environmental problems, which has worked with more than 30 community garden groups in diverse neighborhoods throughout the New York City area to construct rainwater-harvesting systems using simple piping and barrels to collect water from adjacent rooftops or garden structures; Glendale Xeriscape Demonstration Garden in Glendale, Ariz., a 4-acre living laboratory that showcases low-water-use plants and educates the community on the benefits of water-efficient gardening; David Salman, president and chief horticulturist of the retail nursery, Santa Fe Greenhouses, and its mail-order counterpart, High Country Gardens, who has spent the better part of 20-plus years in pursuit of beautiful and drought-tolerant plants for western landscapes; and the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association, which took a leadership role in water management by partnering with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to develop a program that would achieve the goal of sustainable resource conservation.
Gray received the effort for his innovative water conservation efforts at Marvel Golf Club, where he implemented a wastewater recapture program in which all storm water and household wastewater generated by the homes surrounding the golf course is captured, treated and pumped into the course's irrigation retention ponds where it is used to irrigate the course. It's not that Gray doesn't have access to fresh water to irrigate. After all, he's located in the not-exactly-arid Midwest and his course is close to a lake. But Gray believes that irrigating with reclaimed water — because he can irrigate with it — is the right thing to do.
"I do it because it's the most environmentally sensitive thing to do," Gray says.
Not only that, but Gray has also positioned himself well for the future when more courses in his region will undoubtedly have to irrigate with reclaimed water in the coming years. Gray, a pied piper of sorts, has his course ahead of the curve. His peers in the region also have someone they can turn to for advice on reclaimed water.
Before Gray received his award and the short films were screened, I sat down with him on the picturesque grounds of The Arboretum & Botanic Garden. Gray called the award an "unexpected honor." Gray, who was also the overall winner of the 2007 Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards co-sponsored by Golf Digest and The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, was especially proud of Rain Bird's award because it was not exclusive to the golf industry.
"This points to a perception change that the golf course industry is environmentally conscious, particularly with water conservation," Gray said. "Because traditionally we are unfortunately thought of as big wasters of water. And nothing could be further from the truth."
The sun sets over the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden.
Gray's wife, Colleen, nominated him for the award. Colleen says she nominated Chris for the award because golf courses are not the water abusers they are perceived to be, as she says her husband has proved that.
"And through this award, Chris can prove that golf courses do not waste water," Colleen added.
Gray was chosen the winner by an esteemed panel of experts that includes: Elizabeth Cutright, editor, Water Efficiency magazine; Dan Stark, executive director of the American Public Gardens Association; Ron Stoltz, director of the School of Landscape Architecture at The University of Arizona; and Marty Eberhardt, executive director of The Water Conservation Garden and winner of the 2007 Intelligent Use of Water Award.
Gray was able to meet other attendees of the event, including New York filmmaker Shalina Kantayya, who was master of ceremonies. Kantayya, who was last year's audience choice award winner for the competition, told Gray she thought golf courses used too much fresh water. Needless to say, she was impressed after hearing about Gray's reclaimed water irrigation program at Marvel.
Back to the films, which were enjoyable and evoked several emotions. Before the films were screened, Rain Bird's Corporate Director of Marketing Dave Johnson told attendees that he assumed they were at the event for three reasons. "You're passionate about water use, you're passionate about filmmaking, and the need for water conservation has never been greater," he said.
The five finalists made powerful references to water conservation in very creative ways. The films used stark seriousness and laugh-out-loud humor among other emotions to get their points across. David Sutera was the jury prize winner for his film, "Glass Half Full." Michael McGuire was the audience choice winner for "Water Thicker Than Oil." Other films were titled, "Gold for Gold," "Wah Wah" and "Against the Current."
I advise you to take some time out of your busy schedules; you'll only need 30 minutes or so to watch all five films, which are well done, entertaining and bring home an important message about water conservation — a message of which superintendents are already familiar.
By the way, hats off to Rain Bird for creating this competition. It's an excellent vehicle to get out the word to all industries and all walks of life about the importance of water conservation.
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