The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
CLEARING THE WAY
BLUE BELL >> He’s only 17, but Jake Boyd is no novice when it comes to yard work. His father operates Blue Bell’s Modern Landscaping & Home Improvements, and the local teen has done his share of assisting MLHI’s crew during summer vacations. So, taming a tree line at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church on Skippack Pike… well, that seemed like a natural choice when it came time for him to select an Eagle Scout project.
And that’s why Boyd and some 20 volunteers, including fellow BSA Troop 98 Scouts, adult leaders and alumni, spent one of August’s
hottest weekends, and roughly 126 manhours, cleaning up the woodsy area adjacent to the church parking lot.
“That big tree line along the parking lot was extremely overgrown with dead branches, old logs, poison ivy and vines, and it was becoming a real safety hazard,” says Boyd, a senior at Wissahickon High School and part-time food-runner at the Farmer’s Daughter restaurant. “God forbid, a big rain storm or hurricane took down some of the debris and damaged the church or any cars that were parked there. So, what we did, we went in there with hedge trimmers, chain saws, loppers…and completely cleared out all the debris.
“Then, we took the debris and chipped it down into wood chips, which we put back into the empty tree line. That way, we stayed eco-friendly because we didn’t have to dump any of the debris or burn it or dispose it back in the woods. We wanted to use it efficiently. And now the wood chips will prevent that tree line from getting overrun again.”
Troop 98, currently based at neighboring St. John’s Lutheran Church, used to meet at St. Dunstan’s, so Boyd was familiar with the property and figured “the work they needed done sounded like a pretty big project.
Jake Boyd’s Eagle Scout project was clearing a tree line at St. Dunstan’s Church in Blue Bell.
“But you only get to do one project, so I thought, go big or go home…go all out for whatever project you do, and that fit the bill,” he continues.
In the end, Boyd felt “a huge sigh of relief.”
“I felt really good, because I had orchestrated the whole thing,” he says. “When I first got there Friday morning, I was, like, okay, this is a lot of work, but we just have to take it one step at a time, day-byday, hour-by-hour. At the end, seeing it finished, I was extremely relieved and proud that I was able to do such a good job. But it was also kind of emotional, because I realized my Scouting adventures were almost coming to an end.”
Those adventures began when Boyd was in fifth grade. Since then,
he’s “done everything from campouts and camporees…to high adventures like Philmont Camp in New Mexico and Caribbean Sea Base,” which he attended in the Florida Keys and still remembers how “amazing it was to go kayaking out by the mangroves and the coral reefs…stay on little islands…it was great.”
This summer, Boyd attended the rugged Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico, for the second time.
“It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but, by far, the most rewarding thing I’ve done,” he says. “We did a 125-mile trek. By the end, I’d lost, like, 10 pounds. But the things I learned, the people I met and the friendships I formed with my crew mates…I’m gonna remember all that forever.”
A member of WHS’s ultimate frisbee club and avid Lego set collector, Boyd points to such experiences
as the reason he’s stayed with Scouting.
“What’s kept me in Scouting?” he asks rhetorically. “The first thing is the people. The people, specifically in my troop, are some of the smartest, nicest, funniest people you’ll ever meet. The other reason is because of the lessons and knowledge I’ve gained from going to meetings, camp-outs, stuff like that. The third thing is, the stuff I’ve gotten to do and the places I’ve gotten to go. And honestly, probably the main reason I’ve stayed is, the people there made me feel like I mattered when a lot of times — like when I did sports or tried other new things — I felt like none of it mattered. These people made me feel like I mattered.”
The future, aside from his Eagle Scout board of review?
“Right now, I plan to wrap up Scouts…become an Eagle Scout, officially, and then do my last high adventure next summer — a fishing trip in the Great Lakes,” says Boyd, whose family also includes mom Lisa, sister Sam, a WHS junior, and brother Charlie, a fourthgrader at Blue Bell Elementary School. “From there, I plan on enlisting in either the Coast Guard or the Army and picking up a trade… welding. After the Military, if it interests me, I’ll go to college and then…just see what happens. I think the important thing is, always do what you love. As long as it makes you happy at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”