Durango Boy Scout Troop 501 member Lucas Gundrey is working toward earning his Eagle Scout rank.
As part of the rank requirements, Gundrey, 15, has to plan and develop a service project helpful to any school, community or religious institution.
He chose to create a new sidewalk at St. Columba Preschool, 1801 East Third Ave., where he first attended school.
Gundrey and his fellow troop members started work on the sidewalk Saturday morning, but a lot of previous planning went into the project.
“A lot of planning happens before the physical labor. It was a lot of paperwork and it needed approval by the Scout Master,” Gundrey said.
He designed the project and created a list of materials needed, all of which were donated by Home Depot, Eagle Block, C&J Gravel and Kroegers Ace Hardware.
In all, the project is expected to take around 300 hours, said Scout Master Rob Kolter.
“This project is about getting community involved. He recruited people to help out, and there is a list of steps he has to go through to make this project happen,” Kolter said. “I’m so proud of our troop and our scouts because we have great things happening with our kids.”
Kolter said the Boy Scouts aim to have kids reach Eagle Scout rank by the time they turn 15 because school becomes more demanding after that.
Last week, Troop 501 helped pack up the Red Cross evacuation center at Escalante Middle School after displaced families were allowed to return home after the Lightner Creek Fire.
mrupani@durangoherald.com
