More than 100 residents turned out for Arbor Day celebration

More than 100 residents converged on Discovery Park on Saturday for Arbor Day celebrations.

The event, hosted by Utilities Inc., of Central Nevada, was co-sponsored by Home Depot and Red Rock Audubon Society as well as Master Gardeners from the University of Nevada Reno Cooperative Extension Program.

The Pahrump Arts Council was also present for the celebration.

Discovery Park is the former location of the defunct Willow Creek Golf Course.

Utilities Inc., President Wendy Barnett said residents in the neighborhood wanted to know more about the future of the site.

“There’s a lot of interest in the park from those who live in this area and we’ve been getting very positive feedback,” she said. “This site was a real disappointment to the neighbors who live in the area who purchased golf course property and for them to find out it won’t be a golf course any longer, they wanted to come out and find out what the future is for this site and many of them are very excited about what we are doing and what we are trying to create.”

Barnett said she and others associated with the project envision a concept that will be of great benefit to the entire community when all is said and done.

“There are different focuses on education and we have a nature area planned, along with a recreational area, including a history area,” she said. “The history area will focus on Pahrump, Nye County and Nevada. This is meant to be a park for all ages to discover. It’s been a lot of fun out here today, especially for the children. We have ‘Chuck the Duck’ here today and he is the water conservation duck, which is sponsored by the Nevada Rural Water Association.”

Additionally, Barnett said there’s a good possibility the event may become an annual one at the site.

“I think it would be a lot of fun to have some kind of Arbor Day celebration here each year, but I don’t want to call this the first annual because we want to see where we will be going. I am really excited about the number of people who want to participate in the process. Whether they have the means to donate money, everybody is doing what they can.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes