By Patrick Adrian
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CLAREMONT — On the last official day of summer vacation, Claremont resident Bryce Weymouth led a team of volunteers, including his peers from Boy Scout of America Troop #38, into the woods of Moody Park to help him complete a community service project. After three hours of labor, the team had installed a new kiosk and colored map of the park’s trail system.
The kiosk, located on the Tall Pines Trail, is not only an aesthetic and useful addition to the 2.5-mile open-access road. For Weymouth it means the completion of his Eagle Scout project, the final task necessary to become an Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America.
“For my project I wanted to do something as scout-related as possible,” Weymouth told the Eagle Times. “This was related to hiking and was going to encourage outdoorsmanship in the community.”
In completing one’s Eagle Scout project, the scout chooses a way to “give something back to the community, not related to scouting” and oversees the coordination with contributing partners to bring the project to fruition, explained Troop #38 Scout Leader Alex Herzog.
Weymouth initially began his project in the spring through conversations with Claremont Parks and Recreation Director Mark Brislin, which led to Weymouth working closely with Claremont business owner John Lambert.
Weymouth said Lambert played a key role in helping Weymouth with the kiosk design and teaching him the building techniques.
Lambert also plans to work with other scouts in the area to add another three kiosks in the trail system. Weymouth is also expected to participate by sharing his learning experiences from the project.
“I learned that taking ideas and putting them in reality is easier said than done,” Weymouth said. “You can have all the plans you want, but once you get into the workshop is when you really have to use your head.”
Weymouth said the most typical challenges when building might be not purchasing a proper part or making a miscut and having to acquire new material.
Weymouth also had to handle unanticipated adversity in the form of the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, which caused numerous delays and complications. Initially, Weymouth and Lambert had intended to work at the Claremont Makerspace on Water Street, but the state’s emergency regulations placed too many restrictions to make that site possible. As a result, construction was delayed until July when Weymouth acquired permission to use the Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center.
The ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic has also triggered supply shortages in key building materials, particularly pressure-treated wood.
“We were lucky to get ours when we did,” Weymouth said. “When we went to LaValley’s Building Supply to first pick up supplies, they had just received their shipment of pressure-treated wood and everyone was grabbing it.”
Weymouth received approval from the Claremont City Council at their meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 23, to donate and install the kiosk.
Having trail maps and kiosks have become increasingly important to the park, according to Brislin. The number of trails has expanded significantly during the last five years. Additionally, the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic has spurred a spike in trail use, with more people looking for safe, socially-distanced family activities and exercise outlets.
“This is a great addition to the park,” Brislin said. “There have been a lot of people who are new to the park, so this kiosk helps to get park users oriented to the trail system.”
Several Claremont businesses, organizations and citizens donated to this project in the form of materials, funds or other support, including LaValley’s, members of the Elks Lodge #879, Town and Country Realty Associates and the Claremont Community Center. The kiosk is affixed with a plaque identifying the full list of donors.
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