Prince George\u2019s County is in the middle of giving the Lake Arbor Golf Course a mulligan, working to turn the nearly 130 acres of former fairways into a park.<\/p>\n
This page contains a video which is being blocked by your ad blocker.
In order to view the video you must disable your ad blocker.<\/p>\n
An abandoned Md. golf course will get a \u201crewilding\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been over 15 years since anyone living around the Lake Arbor Golf Course had to worry about an errant slice breaking a window, or their kids hearing the inevitable shouting and cursing that comes with another shot landing in the water.<\/p>\n
The course, which operated for about 40 years, closed in 2010. But now, Prince George\u2019s County, Maryland, is in the middle of giving it a mulligan, working to turn the nearly 130 acres of former fairways, greens and tee boxes into a park.\n<\/p>\n
A key addition to that transformation came in the form of a grant that will help the county plant over 10,000 trees along the course.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to do about 60 acres of planting, meadow creation, wetland creation on the former golf course,\u201d said Dominic Quattrocchi, an arborist and supervisor with the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the entity transforming this old course into something new.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a rewilding initiative where we\u2019re trying to balance sort of natural resources management and stewardship and provide recreational amenities for the local community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trees being planted will add some wooded areas to the park, while meadows and wetlands will also be created. The cart paths, used by residents as walking paths, will also be upgraded to offer a better trail system that meanders through other parts of the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll have trail going through where we\u2019re planting new trees, and through the meadow area, so people can kind of veer off, if they want an experience through a mowed path, and then get back on the paved path system,\u201d said Mary Jo Kishter, project supervisor and environmental planner with the Prince George\u2019s County Parks and Recreation Department.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to improve the area, the setting, and it\u2019s going to facilitate people getting together, walking their dogs, meeting one another in the community,\u201d Quattrocchi said. \u201cBefore, it was just the closed golf course that had some unique concerns and problems with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kishter agreed the transformation will make the space available to more people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a facility that was for golfers only, and now it\u2019s going to be a park with a lot of different amenities for different folks with different interests to enjoy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A similar project is being planned for the old Cross Creek golf course in the Calverton area. Montgomery County did something similar with Redgate golf course in Rockville, and other former courses around the country are also getting \u201crewilded.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always looking to fill in the gap with our parkland acquisitions, expanding our greenway and hydrologic connections, and our trail connections,\u201d Quattrocchi said. \u201cLake Arbor checked a lot of boxes in terms of future public use and need, environmental protection, expanding forested areas. It\u2019s just going to be a quality asset.\u201d<\/p>\n