Mathieu Ouellet, 16 of Worthington, and member of Boy Scout Troop number 93, recently led a team of adults, scouts and volunteers in clearing approximately a mile and a half of trails at Arunah Hill Natural Science Center in Cummington.
The work was done as part of an Eagle Scout service project and on July 23rd Ouellet received his Eagle Scout rank at a ceremony held at the Worthington Rod and Gun Club.
The project took his team of nine volunteers a full weekend and a total of 73 work hours.
Arunah Hill President Ed Fiats said that his non-profit all volunteer organization had nothing to do with working on the project, but they were grateful that it was done.
“We had offered to get him some assistance, maybe some adults with chainsaws but he organized everything and did it all on his own with no help from us,” Fiats said. “He came in, went through the trail system, and cleared over a mile of downed trees and brush from the trail and repainted the trail markers.”
There are about six miles of nature trails at the science center and Fiats said that this section had become so overgrown that it was practically unusable.
Ouellet said that he had been doing some orienteering there earlier in the year while on a camping trip with his scout troop.
“We were looking for the trail and we saw the markers, but coudn’t find the trail,” Ouellet said. “That’s when I thought it would be nice if someone cleared it.”
Arunah Hill Natural Science Center promotes the advancement of astronomy, science, nature, and education. The organization was founded in 1992 to offer a dark-sky observing site for members, astronomers, and the public. It also maintains a research facility for astronomy and science and, an environmental, botanical, and wildlife preserve.
“We are 20 miles from any city and you can see the night sky and Milky Way as it should be seen,” Fiats said.
With 100 of acres pristine natural forest, 5 of which are cleared for an observation site, the center hosts a variety of educational groups, and Fiats says many people also do geo-caching there.
Before Ouellet’s improvements, making ones way down the trail was a difficult and precarious endeavor at best.
“With the blow down and overgrowth, you had to be very careful if you used that trail. Now it is clear to travel and well marked,” Fiats said.
Originally from Fredericksburg, Virginia. Ouellet is a junior at Wahconah Regional High School who moved to Massachusetts in 2015 and joined Troop 93, which is sponsored by the Windsor Congregational Church.
He has earned a total of 27 merit badges and backpacked 311 miles in 16 hikes on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia.
Ouellet is currently active in football and will be applying for an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy next year after which he says he would like to secure a commission into the United States Marine Corps.
The Westhampton and Chesterfield Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Programs will offer two presentations with Zoo on the Go this month.
The program brings a variety of animals and artifacts for children to experience and learn about.
Presenters bring information about the animals, their special adaptations, habitats, behaviors, diets and their status in the wild.
“We never know exactly which animals we will be bringing, because that can change depending on the weather, how they are feeling that day and the last time they were used in a presentation,” said educator Ben Stafford, of the Zoo in Forest Park in Springfield.
Stafford said they try to bring a selection of birds, mammals, and reptiles.
Participants will be able to touch and observe the animals, as well as chat with the presenters.
The presentations will be on Tuesday, August 16, at the Westhampton Public Library at 10 a.m. and Friday, August 19, at the Chesterfield Community Center at 10 a.m.
Zoo on the Go is an educational outreach program operated by Zoo in Forest Park.
These events are free and open to the public and are funded in part by a multigenerational grant from the Highland Valley Elder Services.
For more information on these two events contact: Pat Miller at 527-2404. For information on the Forest Park zoo visit: forestparkzoo.org.
The Goshen Council On Aging will have their annual picnic and volunteer recognition day on Tuesday, August 9, from 9 a.m. until noon at the Tilton ball field.
Family and friends are invited to come and enjoy hot dogs, hamburgers, and veggie burgers.
In case of rain the event will be held on, Wednesday, August 10, at noon.
Ideas for this column on life in the hilltowns can be sent to fryan.gazette@gmail.com.