On March 14, Troop 44G conducted a Court of Honor for Julia Schnibbe, Senior Patrol Leader. Photos provided by Will Cytowicz.
On Feb. 28, Troop 44 B conducted an Outdoor, Drive-In Court of Honor for John Hughes advancing to the rank of 2nd Class.
On March 14, Luke Holmes, Life Scout of Troop 44 B, constructed his Eagle Scout Project which consisted of building 12 bog bridges on the Wallisch Homestead Environmental Trail.
Luke Holmes walks along the 12 bog bridges he built his project on the Wallisch Homestead Environmental Trail.
The young men and women of Scout Troop 44 in West Milford have not been be slowed by the pandemic. Of course, COVID-19 safety measures have always been in play. Still, these scouts continue to accomplish.
Here’s an update of some of those activities as provided by Will Cytowicz:
John Hughes
On Feb. 28, Troop 44 B conducted an Outdoor, Drive-In Court of Honor for John Hughes advancing to the rank of 2nd Class.
The 2nd Class rank is the 3rd of the 7 ranks that lead to Eagle Scout. In order to earn the 2nd Class rank, a scout must demonstrate knowledge of environmental stewardship, firebuilding, cooking, orienteering, animal identification, safe swimming, first aid, drug awareness and civics.
Julia Schnibbe
On March 14, Troop 44G conducted a Court of Honor for Julia Schnibbe, Senior Patrol Leader.
A Senior Patrol Leader is the highest youth leader within a scout troop. A Senior Patrol Leader, or SPL for short, is elected by their peers and is responsible for the overall operation of the troop. With the other leaders of the troop, the SPL is in charge of troop meetings, activities, and goal setting. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) opened its program to girls in 2019. As a result of this change, the national organization renamed the organization to Scouts, BSA.
Luke Holmes
On March 14, Luke Holmes, Life Scout of Troop 44 B, constructed his Eagle Scout Project. The project consisted of building 12 bog bridges on the Wallisch Homestead Environmental Trail.
Because the Wallisch Homestead Environmental Trail rests within wetlands, the trail is prone to being oversaturated and unusable.
Adding to this issue is illegal ATV usage that further damages the trail.
In an initiative to begin improving the hiking trail, the Friends of Wallisch approved Luke’s project that originally consisted of building eight bog bridges.
As a result of Luke’s successful fund-raising efforts, he was able to build 12 bridges.
Each bridge consists of 2 - 2”x10” x 12 foot boards that rest upon 3 - 6”x6” x32” blocks. The width of the blocks allows for a wide enough span to keep the bridges from getting bogged down in the bog which allows for hikers to cross into the different sections of the trail.