Boy Scout Helps Bring Outdoor Classroom To Hawley

By Tanjua Damon

Hawley School now has an outdoor classroom, thanks to a Newtown High School student who took on the project to help him complete requirements for his Eagle Scout award.

Will Simmons, 16, a sophomore and a member of Scout Troop 270 of Dodgingtown, put in many hours fixing up the nature trail located at Hawley School behind the ball fields. It was a project that took almost a year with the help of friends and other troop members. The rainy spring and summer delayed the completion of the project. Will had hoped to finish the project before school ended last year, but Mother Nature did not want to cooperate.

“I started it about a year ago. I had a couple of friends and kids from the scouts come in and put mulch down,” Will said. “Because of the wet fields we couldn’t get the truck back there. It delayed it even further because of the rain.”

The nature trail is not new to Hawley. A few years ago, former student Kyle Turoczi and his wife Lisa laid out the trail and mapped it the way it is now, according to Hawley School Math and Science Specialist Debbie Cowden. But the school was hoping volunteers would help develop the trail and beautify it.

“Will, God bless him,” she said. “He took this on as an Eagle Scout project for an outdoor-classroom at Hawley.”

Will found out about the trail through word of mouth from other scout parents. He did not attend Hawley School; he was a Head O’ Meadow elementary student. But he was drawn to this community service project.

The nature trail is about an eighth of a mile, according to Will. It is located in a marsh area where students from Hawley will be able to observe the environment. The project consisted of laying out 30 yards of mulch, assembling duck and track boxes, and putting benches together for students to sit on while at their outdoor classroom.

To earn the Eagle Scout award, a Boy Scout must organize and manage a project. The materials have to be donated unless there is allocated funding to work with.

“I’m sort of glad it’s over. It was a lot of work,” Will said. “But it’s good for the kids.”

Over 500 Hawley School children will be able to make use of the outdoor classroom, Debbie said. All the classrooms have maps of the trail.

Hawley School Principal Jo-Ann Peters was very appreciative for the work that Will and his friends did for the nature trail and Hawley School.

“Thank you so much for all the work you’ve done,” she said. “It’s something to be so proud of. It’s something for us to use for years to come. All of it isn’t just the product. It’s the whole process. You have to be proud of what you have done.”

Will received donations from several companies. J.F. Walsh Logging Company in Sandy Hook donated 10 yards of mulch, Rings End Lumber Company in Bethel gave lumber for the duck and track boxes along with some sand, and Newtown Hardware also gave sand. Hawley School already had funding they had received from some grants from Dupont and American Brands specifically for the trail. Allan Graves, a scout dad, put in quite a bit of time assembling the duck boxes, according to Will.

Will is the son of Pam and William Simmons (Scout Master of Troop 270).

“We’re really proud of him. He saw it through to the end,” Pam said. “It’s just like his dad said, ‘ it’s something he’ll never forget.’”

Unfortunately, there has been some vandalism on the trail since it was complete. Some of the benches were broken (it looks like someone jumped on them), and one of the track boxes had been moved and played with. People are encouraged to enjoy the trail, but also to respect it and keep it the way they found it.

“I think people will be out here all the time now that the weather is warmer,” Debbie said. “It’s a perfect size for us right now.”