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General News: Troop 118 Boy Scouts Rescue Hillside
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| Sam Corby (l) and Andrew Stein (r), First Class Scouts with Troop 118, organized a weekly water patrol to Round Top Park. |
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| A dozen cluster of trees and shrubs were planted in May to prevent erosion of the steep hillside. |
September 27, 2011
By Ross Miller
Late in 2010, a grove of near-100 year old chestnut oak trees was illegally cut down in Round Top Park in the village. In response, John Brady, Forest Manager of Black Rock Forest, organized a group and replanted the rough acre of park land in May of this year. Successful replanting required “early succession” trees and shrubs, which can root more successfully than “late succession” trees, such as chestnut oaks. These plantings, surrounded by deer-proof wire fencing, would prevent serious erosion of the steep hillside. Mr. Brady explains that without the old-growth oak trees, “the shallow soil atop the park’s summit had nothing to hold it in place. By starting with elderberry and dogwood and birch trees, among other plantings, there is a strong likelihood that the hill will not erode.”
However, the first several months are critical for new saplings and shrubs to survive. Mr. Brady sought help from Troop 118’s boy scouts to help nurture the new plantings during the summer. Ron Jurain, Troop 118’s scoutmaster, and Chuck Mellucci, assistant scoutmaster, called on Sam Corby and Andrew Stein, both First Class Scouts, to organize fellow scouts in leading a weekly water patrol up the steep hillside to water each of the dozen clusters of plants.
As each cluster required two gallons of water, plus any additional rainwater that nature provided, six to ten additional scouts routinely joined Andrew and Sam in filling and carrying gallon jugs nearly every Tuesday evening throughout the summer. (On those weeks with sufficient rain, the scouts took the week off.) On several occasions, scouts were treated to close-up glimpses of local hawks and other birds, as well as a sweeping panoramic view of the Hudson Valley and Storm King Mountain.
Sam and Andrew agreed it was a lot of hard work this summer, but was really worthwhile. The scouts especially thanked Carlos and Hilda Asencio and Storm King Fire Company #2 for permitting the scouts to fill the water jugs and stow equipment between the weekly water runs.
Mr. Brady praised the scouts’ willingness to help, saying that “all of the follow-up the scouts provided after the initial planting was critical to the success of the project. These new shrubs and trees will very likely survive their first year, and then they’ll be able to grow on their own. Someday, even chestnut oaks may return to the land.”
Comments:
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What a great effort to take back what belongs to Nature and to village residents, and not to one selfish and ignorant person with a control fetish. As more people become educated to the importance of maintaining steep-slope stability, especially in light of the deluge of rain we've all suffered through, perhaps more people will speak up when they see this kind of behavior in the future... OUR future.
posted by Rick Gioia on 10/03/11 at 9:32 PM
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