A new 18-hole disc golf course is nearly ready in Dry Creek Park, in Port Alberni’s uptown.
It will be the second course for the city once it is ready for players: the first course is around the building at Echo Centre.
“All 18 baskets are installed (in Dry Creek),” said Elliot Molsberry from Alberni Valley Disc Golf Club. “Now we’re just at a stage of developing the fairways and greens and dealing with all the invasive blackberry. There’s a lot of brushing going on,” he added.
Members of the Thunderbird Unit Crew were at the park in late July to assist the Alberni Valley Disc Golf Club with some brush clearing and tree bucking on the course.
READ: Disc golf expands to Port Alberni’s Dry Creek Park
“We’re here collaboratively working with a project the city’s endorsed to build a disc golf course. Through some work connections we were fortunate enough to touch base with the Thunderbirds Unit Crew from the BC Wildfire Service and provide some training opportunity for them as well as helping us with some fuel hazard abatement, and also help us open it up to have a disc golf course installed,” Molsberry said.
Most of the trees that were removed were already on the ground, Molsberry said. “It was bucked up so that we could get access as we walk the fairways. A lot of them were lining the fairways so you would have to step over them. It’s also just to remove the hazard.
“The city did a danger tree assessment a year or so ago, and this would have been the remnants that were not able to be fully pulled out.”
READ: Port Alberni’s second disc golf course on the way in Dry Creek Park
The wood and brush was removed by city public works crews. Disc golfers have already been spotted at Dry Creek Park checking out some of the baskets.
“We’re really optimistic in the next month or two we’ll have it ready for the public to come and enjoy,” Molsberry said.
Anyone interested in joining in or learning more can go online to the disc golf club’s Facebook page (AVDGC).
susie.quinn@albernivalleynews.com
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