Friends of Little Rocky Run

November 2009 - Luke Messenger's Eagle Scout Project - Tree planting and pipe removal in the Little Rocky Run Watershed.

Luke Messenger, in a yellow jacket, supervises his brother Ben, in white shirt.  The original plan was to break the pipes up with a jack hammer.  This turned out to be almost impossible.  The final solution was to yank them out with a front end loader and then haul them to a local landfill.

Luke Messenger organized a two-phase Eagle Scout project that occurred over three Saturdays in September, October, and November, 2009.  The first phase was to plant some trees on the original site of his older brother Ben's project (note Luke's picture in the second photo from top).  The original trees on Ben's site had died.  The second task was to clean a Little Rocky Run tributary of trash and then remove four large steel-reinforced concrete pipes that were a major eyesore. Both projects were handled efficiently and professionally.  The tree planting was completed with no problems and it is very likely that they will survive to maturity.  The pipe removal project turned out to be extraordinarily difficult.  The first attempt was stymied because the pipes turned out to be much larger than they appeared to be, sunk as they were in mud.  So a second, but successful attempt, had to be made the following Saturday.  The amount of labor and organization required to complete this task over two weekends was of the highest order, but Luke completed the task with flying colors. Just as important was Luke's attention to safety.  This project had a high degree of accident potential, but nothing happened other than the usual blisters.

As noted above, the original plan was to use a jackhammer to break up the pipes.  Because they were steel-reinforced and also about 1/3rd bigger than estimated, this plan was discarded.  Note also that recent rains had transformed the entire area into a bog, and getting the trucks in and out was not easy.

Troop 1371 volunteers included: Luke, Ben, Vickie and Calvin Messenger; Ned Foster; Jon Lopaki; Mr. Tony Lopacki (Troop Scoutmaster); Mr. Don Minner; Kevin Minner; Robert Kaufman; Mr. Tim Clayborn, Jr.; Mr. Kevin Peters; Rosemary Partsch; Mr. Julio Caldas; and Mr. Vinny Caldas.  All expenses, which were considerable, were funded via a grant from the Navy Federal Credit Union.

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