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......Sylvan Glen Park had several problems. Its trail was showing
serious erosion with many roots being exposed, its sign was smashed through,
and its bench tops were torn off and broken. My project was to fix
those things and build a kiosk (information booth).
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.This is the first day of my Eagle Scout Project. My plan was to spread the pile of wood chips in the parking lot on the trail, repair the benches, and fix the sign in the outdoor classroom this week. 25 people showed up and they worked so hard that we finished the work in only one day.
People weedwhacked the trail to clear it for the wood chips. They then weedwhacked the outdoor classroom to create a clear space to set up the benches. The weedwhackers whacked almost all day and it was very fun for them. They not only whacked the trail and classroom, they whacked the entire meadow and around the parking lot. Most people helped with the wood chipping. The wood chipping was finished in 2 hours when I expected it to take all day Saturday. By then Mr. Rick K. had the bench construction site set up. A group photo was taken after we had lunch. People started leaving the project then.
The benches had to be redesigned because the spacers, that I had asked for previously, were not delivered, and I had to ask the PARKS people to please drive to the store and get some spacers (I said "1/4in spacers") and they brought back non-pressure-treated ones. I could not use them and so discussed and approved of a bench redesign using some of the 2x4s as spacers, causing the benches to be shorter in length than planned.
A photographer stopped by near the end of the project, took another group photo, and put it on her website about mushrooms .
Thank you for everyone who came. This phase of the project turned out much better than expected because of you.
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.During this phase of the project we finished wood chipping the trail and the outdoor classroom. The work on the classroom and the wood chipping are now finished. I am very glad that I had so many people come to both parts of my project.
The wood chipping was done in two hours. Thanks again for everyone
who came. My project will hopefully start again in September.
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.On September 16 we dug the Kiosk's foundation, put in the posts and bracing, and poured the concrete.
On September 17 we spread wood chips again on the trail and classroom, because instead of the hardwood chips, as at Turkey Mountain, we recieved soft-wood chips, and they had rotted away over the summer. Unfortunately, all we got were more softwood chips.
I was worried that the kiosk materials might disappear before the
kiosk could be completed some other day, because there is vandalism at
Sylvan Glen Park. Two of the classroom's benches that were only built
this summer were burned down. The picture with the blue tarp with
the kiosk materials underneath shows that I asked a neighbor to please
leave my materials in his yard until my project was finished.
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.My project is finally done. The kiosk and benches have been built, and the trail has a new layer of wood chips. Two of the eight benches have been burned down by vandals, and the wood chips are rotting, but I am very sure that the kiosk will survive and help people for many years to come, being very visible from the road and sturdy.
It took me 4 months at an I-am-not-in-a-hurry pace to get my paperwork finished during Christmas vacation.
I want to again thank everyone who came to my project.
The Eagle Rank is a great thing to decide to work for, and with Mr. John S., the nice person I worked with at the Yorktown PARKS Department, it was fun for me.
Thomas L.
Eagle Scout
Photos by the L. family.
Boy Scout Troop 174, Yorktown, NY. http://troop174.info