Using disc golf to promote conservation & healthy ecosystems
By Sean McGlynn
It’s not unusual to see a few stands at disc golf tournaments. Maybe there’s someone in charge of a local fundraiser and someone else selling disc golf discs and accessories. At a June 2024 tourney in Ontario, Canada, though, there was a stand of a very different sort.
“I’m here educating people on how to identify and deal with invasive species,” said the man behind the table, Chris Bialek, Community Outreach Coordinator for Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).
Why did he think a disc golf competition was a good place to set up his information booth? It’s because the event was part of the 2024 ChainLink Conservation Tournament Series, which took place at courses recently built on land managed by conservation authorities like the TRCA. Bialek was at the tournament in Albion Hills Conservation Park, where the championship-level Albion Albatross Course along with the beginner-friendly Albion Birdie Course were designed and installed by the duo behind ChainLink Disc Golf, Cara Hovius and Jeff MacKeigan.
The courses ChainLink has built in collaboration with conservation authorities have all had environmental conservation at their cores since initial planning stages. Bialek didn’t pick eradication of invasives as an educational topic on a whim but because the course was specifically created and landscaped with that goal in mind.
“A lot of invasives were removed during the development of the course and some fairways were even planned around the removal of invasives,” Bialek explained.
The new courses and tournament series are evidence that, given the right mindsets, disc golfers and conservation organizations can form symbiotic relationships. Conservation areas frequently include undeveloped land suitable for excellent destination disc golf courses. For example, Albion Albatross was among the top five most wishlisted disc golf courses in all of Canada over the last year. Disc golf can help conservation areas increase visitor numbers, appeal to and share their core messages with new demographics, provide additional opportunities for community partnerships and education, and even landscape areas to promote healthier native ecosystems.
Planting the Seeds for Conservation Through Conscious Disc Golf Course Design
There’s a very good reason that not every disc golf course building company is setting their sights on conservation-minded public land management agencies as customers. While disc golf is an environmentally low-impact sport compared to many others, making it have a positive impact isn’t easy. The course design processes ChainLink engaged in with TRCA and Conservation Halton with whom they built fellow Conservation Series host course Kelso Disc Golf at Kelso Conservation Area involved numerous meetings, course redesigns, and inevitable compromises.
But the hard work led to finished products that all stakeholders were very proud of and a lot of mutual trust and respect built along the way.
“There were at least nine revisions to the design [of the Albion Albatross Course] to give buffer zones to sensitive areas,” said Ian Boyd, Senior Manager, Conservation Parks, TRCA. “We had to protect and be cognizant of ground-nesting, meadow-dwelling birds such as the bobolink and meadowlark.”
By taking their time and working to meet the needs of a large variety of specialists, such as ecologists and arborists, MacKeigan and Hovius created a finished product that impressed both disc golfers and TRCA staff.
“My relationship with disc golf goes back 20 or more years,” said Maximilian Smith, Funding and Grants Coordinator at TRCA. “I used to play ‘frolf‘ using cans as baskets. Seeing the game in this iteration is amazing. I’m really impressed by how Jeff and Cara worked with our staff, really taking into consideration the conservation of the area. The course is integrated into nature. There’s some interruption, but they really curated where people are walking and what they’re doing.”
Building Disc Golf Courses That Improve Ecosystems
For Smith, the integration of the course into the natural environment of Albion Hills is one of the main appeals of disc golf for the TRCA. Working with, rather than against, the natural landscape also makes disc golf accessible and affordable, helping to reach more members of the community.
“Golf courses look nice; they’re aesthetically pleasing, but I think Albion Hills is more beautiful than any golf course I’ve ever seen,” said Smith. “A key word for us is sustainability, and these courses are sustainable – golf courses just simply aren’t. Sustainability, accessibility, and affordability are all things that are interesting to us, and disc golf helps check all those boxes.”
AJ Leeming, Senior Manager, Programs & Services at Conservation Halton reported a very similar experience installing the course at Kelso Conservation Area with ChainLink Disc Golf.
“They understand conservation the way we do,” said Leeming. “With conscious course designers there is no ambition to cut down lots of trees or dramatically change the environment. Disc golf can use little openings, existing trees, and the natural landscape. We use no pesticides or herbicides. The course is so complementary to the way we manage the landscape already that it’s a very negligible amount of upkeep and work compared to what it would be without the course.”
The team at Conservation Halton and ChainLink Disc Golf went beyond trying to leave a small footprint and sought to create a positive environmental impact by planting numerous native trees and shrubs throughout and around the course.
“If a tree is in ill health or is a hazard and needs to be removed, we always try to replace it at a 2-1 or even 3-1 ratio,” said Leeming. “We replaced trees we removed for the disc golf course at a 5-1 or 7-1 ratio. We planted 39 native tree species this year such as white cedar, pawpaw, Kentucky coffee, shagbark hickory, along with flowering bushes, and wildflowers. We used them to define holes, create shelter, and make some areas more visually appealing. It’s cool to be able to replace trees not just on a whim, but with beneficial species that are in decline and good for birds and insects. The planting work we did was really intentional.”
Along with design conscious of conservation goals and native species, the courses themselves have become another tool to help educate people about nature and the importance of protecting it.
Using Disc Golf Courses for Nature Education
Education is central to the mission of both the TRCA and Conservation Halton, and it’s a key component of their disc golf courses’ phsyical infrastructure and was even built into the Conservation Series tournament schedules.
“Education is part of the approach now,” said Leeming. “How do we incorporate it into the experience? We use tee signs to call out species or interesting topographical features. It helps get kids out and engaged. Even the more experienced players are looking at the sign for course strategy, but then I see them stop and look around as they learn about the native environment.”
Bialek, the TRCA outreach coordinator who manned the information booth on invasive species at the Albion tournament, believes one of the most important steps in getting people to care about conservation and the environment is to get them experiencing the beauty and restorative benefits of nature firsthand.
“We want people to get outside and enjoy nature,” said Bialek. “A lot of what we hear now about nature and the environment is doom and gloom stories. You can’t get people to care without a connection to a specific place.”
Bialek acknowledged that the disc golf courses and events were helping to get a large number of people into the conservation park who may otherwise not be familiar with TRCA’s work and recreational offerings. Since having an attachment to places and environements often leads to a desire to conserve and protect them, he hoped that some disc golfers would leave with a newfound sense of appreciation for the fact that the sport they love requires undeveloped land and healthy forests.
“A lot of bird populations are in decline, but ducks are not – in large part because of hunting groups like Ducks Unlimited that have realized the importance of habitat conservation and protection,” said Bialek. “We are also seeing bird populations that share those habitats increasing.”
While at first glance hunters may not seem like the most likely advocates for environmental protection, many have realized that in order to be able to continue to hunt ducks and other waterfowl, they must help protect and restore the habitats that support these animals. Bialek is expressing the hope that disc golfers will realize that in order to continue throwing discs through beautiful natural areas around the world, they’ll need to advocate protecting such areas in as many ways as possible.
Generating Awareness and Building Connections
Along with the main tournaments, there were multiple side events at the ChainLink Conservation Series designed to both raise funds and awareness for the charitable foundations of the TRCA and Conservation Halton. These events included 50/50 charitable raffles, a charity doubles tournament, and a putting contest that players could participate in before or after their rounds.
The doubles tournament and putting contest were put on by local Ontario disc golf retailer WolfKat Discs. Even the WolfKat staff were able to find a new sense of appreciation for nature during their time working the event.
“The course is on such a beautiful part of the park that I never would have visited if there weren’t disc golf baskets out there,” said Jay de Jager, Co-Founder and Owner of WolfKat Discs. “The course brings you right by a two-hundred-year-old maple and beautiful wetlands that most people would otherwise miss during a visit to the park.”
Along with fundraising and grants, TRCA relies on day passes and annual memberships to support its work. Having a great disc golf course on site is an additional reason for individuals and families to invest in a TRCA pass.
“Every time somebody comes and spends ten dollars to get into the park, that comes right back to our organization,” said Smith. “A big part of what Jeff and Cara are doing, more generally, is raising the profile of the sport and expanding what we do to a new demographic. There is mutual brand awareness; they’re raising the profile of conservation, too, and it’s a big win for us.”
Along with raising money to support conservation in Ontario, the ChainLink Conservation Series enticed 190 disc golfers to visit their local conservation areas and created ample opportunities for them to be educated about the importance of conservation.
“I like to think of disc golf as an appetizer to the entree of conservation,” said Smith. “Hopefully players will see our parks and get engaged to come again.”
