Gets New Benches
Eagle Scout Project Benefits
NACA's Corner Park
Story and photos by Keith Huntsman
More photos, project details
by Eagle Scout Chad Tully
Scouts and their dads and volunteers swarm to the work
At the corner of North Lamar and Payton Gin lies a small plot of city-owned land called Heron Hollow, a triangle of high ground that dips down to Little Walnut Creek. For several years, NACA volunteers under the leadership of Brian and Gina Almon have turned the empty meadow into a neighborhood park, complete with a meandering gravel walkway and a large variety of native trees and plantings.
There has been one serious lack, however: through the years NACA and the Almons have been unable to find a way within our means to install and maintain benches that would be permanent and comfortable enough to make Heron Hollow a true neighborhood commons.
Enter Chad Tully and his friends in Round Rock Scout Troop 27. Chad's Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project centered around improving Heron Hollow with new, sturdy benches that would stand up to heavy usage and Austin's weather. As a bonus, the project included digging up the heavy bamboo thicket that obstructed the view of the creek and the intersection.
On June 13, Chad and the troop, with adult supervision and advice, spent about 60 hours cutting the wood and assembling and staining the benches. Chad designed the benches to be sturdy and well mounted. He used 2x6 cedar planks anchored by carriage bolts to 4x4 posts long enough to be set in concrete. The materials were either donated by neighborhood merchants and volunteers, or paid for out of NACA's beautification fund sponsored by Allied Waste/ BFI.
On June 20, Chad led his troop to Heron Hollow, where, (with adult help including Officer Lee Davis taking a turn on the auger), they drilled post holes, mixed and poured concrete, and set the benches in place. There are five of them now: sturdy, solid and built to last - and they give Heron Hollow the exact addition it needed to become a truly relaxing rest stop.
In addition to the installation of the benches, the scouts and their dads put their backs into digging up the huge bed of bamboo by the creek at the eastern end of the park. While they were engaged in that back-breaking effort, Brian Almon and Keith Huntsman circled the park trimming trees and bushes and collecting trash.
After four hours work by two dozen men and scouts, Heron Hollow was transformed. The new benches were in place along the trails with an unencumbered view of the creek.
All told, the project took about 220 hours of preparation and labor. Chad Tully planned, organized and carried out the project with efficiency and enthusiasm, leaving a lasting mark on our community and our city.
Chad received his confirmation as an Eagle Scout on July 6, and is looking forward to receiving his patch in the near future.
Officer Lee Davis puts his back into the post hole auger
The bench at the trail intersection gets settled in
As one sets in, another is prepared to follow
Scouts put their backs into clearing bamboo
The After shot of the bamboo patch
