Jason Czerwinski, a 17-yearold Palmetto Bay resident and member of the Boy Scouts spent Earth Day, Apr. 22, completing an Eagle Scout project that will enhance the village’s Coral Reef Park, 7895 SW 152 St. in Palmetto Bay.
Coordinating a team of some 20 people, mostly fellow Scouts and some parents, Czerwinski installed mile marker signs along the park’s popular jogging and walking path, which will give those using it a better idea of the distance they are covering. A student at Miami Palmetto Senior High, Czerwinski said it took some time to complete.
“It took a number of hours, from 7 a.m. to about 3 p.m.,” Czerwinski said. “Preparation time took a lot of days. Alot of the wood was donated by Home Depot, which was very nice of them. That took awhile. Then there were the individual steps of cutting the wood, fixing the signs. It was a really long process.”
Jason’s father, Daniel Czerwinski, said he was glad the weather cooperated that morning after being so stormy before. Skies were sunny and clear just long enough to get the work done.
“We finished before we got the first band of rain,” Daniel Czerwinski said later. “We just made it. It wasn’t easy either. What we did was, we sanded the four by fours. They went 18 inches deep and we concreted them in. We put the mile markers, which were plates, on the four by fours. We cut the tops at 30-degree angles and then put the markers on there. The markers were covered with Lexan.”
The jogging and walking path now is marked off by eighths of a mile, so there are eight markers and one signpost indicating the beginning of the trail. Jason explained how the project came about, and how his desire to help the community was matched up with a needed park improvement.
“I went to the head of Parks and Recreation and she told me about the different parks that needed to have projects, and I chose that one,” Jason said. “They give you a list of a few projects that they want to have done and I chose that one because it dealt with something that’s in the Boy Scout law, which is a Scout is physically strong and also helps the community.”
He said that in addition to most of the wood, Home Depot also donated some of the hardware. Besides appreciating their help, there were others that he wanted to acknowledge.
“I definitely want to thank my mom, Lois, and my dad, and Mr. Alexander who has been a huge help,” Czerwinski said. “He’s one of the parents in the troop who really helped me out through the process.”
Next he will submit a write-up telling what he did before and during the project to the Boy Scout Council for review as part of the process of achieving Eagle Scout status.
