Westlake Action Team Spruces up Disc Golf Course

With disc golf season approaching, the Westlake Action Team Captains spent a recent day sprucing up the local Rabbit Flats course by raking up brush and litter, spreading mulch and planting trees.

Former Major Leaguer Robert Fick stopped by to encourage the more than 20 student volunteers who were participating in their second community event of the 2015-2016 school year. They worked alongside the Conejo Recreation and Park District.

“Keep it up! This is what life is about, hard work and motivation for something you love,” Fick told the Captains.

Disc golf, which involves throwing Frisbees and specialized discs into designated baskets over a golf-type layout featuring traps and hazards, is growing in popularity and the Rabbit Flats course gets a lot of use from people in the community.

"Something as small as a park cleanup is actually a part of a much bigger picture in the long run,” said Matt Mitnick, the Westlake Action Team  student leader and founder. “It is very rewarding to know that our newly planted trees will provide shade for the disc golfers in the future while the spreading of mulch will prevent weeds from overtaking the course."

After the cleanup effort, the Action Team Captains joined Conejo Recreation and Parks General Manager Jim Friedl and Director Matt Kouba, who had facilitated the cleanup, for a few rounds of disc golf themselves.

The Westlake Captains are also planning a 5k race to raise money to bring disadvantaged kids to a Dodgers baseball game sometime this season.

 “It’s fulfilling to know that you can make a positive impact on your community by giving your time to work for a cause you are passionate about,” another Captain, Jake D’Alonzo, said afterward.

This Westlake Action Team had participated in a Regional Service Project at Volunteers of America’s Blue Butterfly Village in San Pedro, Calif., in January. To read more about that event click here.

To join the Action Team, click here.