Lorenzo Scarnati, NHS Senior – Class of 2022, has never been one to shy away from a challenge. His most recent undertaking is his Eagle Scout Service Project. As a Life Scout in BSA Troop 743, he set his sights on the John Thompson Nature Trail — home of the Lancer XC Team — as the focus of his service project.
Eagle Scout is the highest achievement in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process.
Prior to getting a shovel into the ground, Lorenzo, son of Anthony and Monica Scarnati, met with several school officials, including Superintendent Dr. Terence Meehan and Buildings and Ground Director Mr. Mark Ulam, to not only present his vision for the project, but also the ways and means in which he would accomplish his goal.
Lorenzo is grateful for the support of his community partners. He secured grants through Neshannock Township Education Foundation and Neshannock Cross Country Boosters. He also had materials, supplies, and service donated by Lowe’s Home Improvement and Ratvasky’s Landscape Supply.
Thus far, Lorenzo has invested 160 hours into his Eagle Scout service project. His father, Anthony, has been working by his side for 110 of those hours. Lorenzo has also called upon friends and family to assist him with the workload. The project is ongoing, but the work completed under Lorenzo’s leadership and management is not only a beautiful, but also impressive! The improvements to the area will be enjoyed by both community members and student athletes utilizing the nature trail.
Lorenzo’s commitment to his family, school, athletics, and community shines through in all he does. On behalf of everyone at Neshannock Township School District, congratulations on a job well done and best wishes as you take the final steps to earning your rank as an Eagle Scout.
To learn more about the current status and future plans of the service project, please take a look at Lorenzo’s notes below:
Here are all the things my family, friends, and I have done to the main trail entrance:
- Cleared out dead and overgrown plants;
- Lifted the stone frog onto an elevated mound of dirt (which we later covered in mulch);
- Moved the stone bench next to the kiosk out towards the kiosk;
- Planted new Dwarf Alberta Spruces and Hostas;
- Trimmed the existing Arborvitaes and Grasses;
- Cleaned and extended the mulch beds with fresh mulch;
- Repainted the white John Thompson Trail sign;
- Replaced the worn out corkboard in the kiosk;
- Added plexiglass doors [to the kiosk] to preserve the corkboard, and any content to be placed on it.
Moving forward, we plan to:
- Put an extra coat of paint on the white trail sign;
- Repaint the other white trail sign behind the baseball fields;
- Clear out weeds, dead, and overgrown plants at the Y-Zone entrance;
- Create mulch beds at the Y-Zone entrance, and add plants to said mulch beds;
- Create, paint, and install a directional sign at the Y-Zone entrance;
- Move the stone bench behind the baseball fields down to the other entrance;
- Make some sort of small plaque recognizing donors and project supporters.
As we worked on the project, we made two alterations to the original plan:
- We decided to not pressure wash the stone benches, to minimize the risk of damaging them. As we moved into the summer, and after brushing some dust and dirt off, we realized the benches were in better condition than we thought. We noticed that the thin layer of lichen actually helps to prevent weathering, and by scraping all of that off, it may actually be more prone to the elements.
- We are strongly considering making a smaller, white directional sign—styled similarly to the “John Thompson Nature Trail” sign—for the Y-Zone entrance, as opposed to a large, wooden kiosk. For us, it would be far less complicated, take far less time (albeit still a good bit of time), and is more likely to be done before the end of the summer. I believe we can still make it look extremely nice, even if we scale down the scope, just a tiny bit. I have a design in mind, which I still need to sketch out.
