Son Helps with an Eagle Scout Project

Son #2 is currently working toward Star rank.  Then comes Life.  Then Eagle.

One of the requirements for Star is to help out with service projects for a total of six hours.

On a recent Saturday morning, son #2 helped a boy in his troop who was working on an Eagle project.

This is from the BSA site, about Eagle projects:

4. While a Life Scout, plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project helpful to any religious institution, any school, or your community. (The project must benefit an organization other than Boy Scouting.) A project proposal must be approved by the organization benefiting from the effort, your unit leader and unit committee, and the council or district before you start. You must use the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook, BSA publication No. 512-927, in meeting this requirement. (To learn more about the Eagle Scout service project, see the Guide to Advancement, topics 9.0.2.0 through 9.0.2.15.)

You can read more about Eagle projects here.
Overall this project was a huge undertaking and involved more than 50 volunteers giving in excess of 275 hours of service.  The results were fantastic!

The project involved clearing a neighborhood path that had been neglected for more than 20+ years and was completely overgrown.  Also, a memorial bench was procured and a small area was set up with a retaining wall and place for the bench.

A couple before pics taken at either end of the path:

it's a jungle in there!

notice how narrow the pathway is

I think the path itself was about a hundred yards in length, so it was quite a lot of overgrowth to clear.

Volunteers came out in the rain one evening and then again for an all-day Saturday event to get the job done.

A few "during" pics:

loppers and chainsaws and weedwhackers, oh my!

the beginning of the retaining wall layout
project leader (Eagle candidate) in the center

first level
rebar being added

son with water bottle and rake
at the ready!

After tons of hard work, it was all finished!
The 'after' pics:

son helped haul and spread these garden rocks
 at the entrance to the path
and he helped rake away brush, hauled lumber and
other tasks

wall finished
bench install will be later (engraving being done)
two new trees planted on the bank
look at how wide the pathway is now!

trees trimmed back, pathway revealed
overgrowth all removed

a look down the freshly mowed bank

I *heart* Eagle Scout projects!