Scouts Complete Service Project at Lake Berryessa

Written by: Sarah McBride

Herms Scouts and Lake Berryessa Park Rangers pose after their service project at Dufer Point Visitor Center.On Sunday, April 2, 2017, at Lake Berryessa, park rangers welcomed 15 volunteers form the Boy Scouts of America Herms District for a service project at Lake Berryessa’s Dufer Point Visitor Center. The Herms District is a service area of the Boy Scouts of America located on the east side of San Francisco Bay and includes the western part of Contra Costa County and a small north-western portion of Alameda County.

Herms District BSA volunteers started the service project with a safety briefing and a description of the day’s event from our park rangers. During the safety discussion park rangers briefed the scouts on wearing proper protective equipment, such as gloves, close toed shoes, eye and ear protection and sun screen. They also shared how important it is to stay hydrated and to watch out for possible wildlife in the area that could be poisonous including rattlesnakes, scorpions and wasps. Scouts were instructed to alert a park ranger if they encountered such an animal.

After receiving their safety instructions and breaking into assigned work groups the scouts diligently set about rehabilitating a section of the Visitor Center’s nature trail. Their job entailed decommissioning a part of the trail by adding soil and raking leaf litter over the specified section. The next step was to improve the existing trail by layering it with base rock, and then adding soil and decomposed granite for the final layer.

Through team work and determination, the Herms Scouts exemplified the principles of stewardship. This service project not only improves the aesthetics of the Lake Berryessa field office grounds, it also improves the visibility of the Access Trail between Dufer Point Visitor Center and Oak Shores Day Use Area’s Acorn Beach. The Lake Berryessa park ranger team appreciates the Herms District BSA volunteers for their hard work.

The Herms Scouts also held a camporee in Oak Shores Day Use Area from April 21 through 23 at Lake Berryessa, in acknowledgement of the scout’s work on service projects like this one their camporee special events permit fee was waived. We look forward to continued collaboration and service projects with these scouts!

Published on May 04, 2017