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Project EverGreen Creates Disk Golf Course for Minnesota Park07-07-16 | Department

Project EverGreen Creates Disk Golf Course for Minnesota Park

In Belle Plain, Minnesota, a Project EverGreen "Healthy Turf. Healthy Kids." endeavor transformed Court Square Park into a disk golf course. Volunteers included local children and green industry representatives Turfco, Genesis Growing Solutions and Town & Country Hardware.

The project scope included soil aeration, weed control and fertilizer application. Volunteers installed hole baskets, tee signage and related course materials at the park's six-hole disk golf course.

Project EverGreen, a national non-profit promoting the value of preserving and revitalizing managed green spaces, brought its "Healthy Turf. Healthy Kids."• Initiative to Court Square Park in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, on April 23.

Project EverGreen worked in partnership with the Belle Plaine park board and city council, Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce and, Belle Plaine High School's FFA. The organization and industry volunteers provided the materials and labor to repurpose and renovate 150,000 sq. ft. of existing turf in the park into a useable, safe six-hole, disk golf course.

The new course capitalized on the growing popularity of the sport which uses a Frisbee instead of a golf ball and challenges players of all ages to hit targets – either a basket or object target – to complete a hole.

The transformed green space renovations are valued at more than $4,000. These improvements provided a new, more inclusive outdoor recreation option and helped foster a greater sense of community for the town's 6,000 plus residents.

The initiative included weed control and fertilization; aeration of the playing surface; installation of new plant material including red osier dogwoods and burning bushes; and general clean-up of the green spaces at each of the facilities.

Minnesota green industry volunteers supporting the Court Square Park project included Genesis Coop, Town & Country Hardware, Turfco, and Gardner & Gardner Communications.

Project EverGreen's "Healthy Turf. Healthy Kids." is a nationwide initiative to renovate and revitalize parks and athletic fields to ensure children have access to safe managed green spaces on which to play and exercise. Yards, parks and athletic fields not only promote a healthier lifestyle but benefit the environment, and contribute to economic growth and community development.

For more information on how you can start a revitalization project in your community, visit www.ProjectEverGreen.org.

As seen in LC/DBM magazine, July 2016.