On March 9, 2013 at approximately 8:00 A.M. the Southern California Live Steamers were invaded by over 40 scouts and parents of Boy Scout Troop 378 from Rolling Hills Estates.They were carrying shovels, hoes and all sorts of other goodies to do one of the most ambitious Eagle Scout projects that SCLS has had the privilege of hosting to date.

Nicky Lofgren and his fellow scouts were going to clean up our bridge area and put in a creek bed along with the associated landscaping and plantings. Wow what a job!!!!

The rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, is the highest rank that may be obtained by a scout under the age of 18 years old. It is the culmination of many years of work, learning many skills, earning many merit badges in these skills and showing leadership and organizational abilities. It is not something that comes easy with less than 2% of all scouts ever advancing to the rank of Eagle Scout. It is a very select group of people, many of which have become presidents, astronauts business and civic leaders and other positions of stature. Once and Eagle, always an Eagle!

Now back to Nicky's Eagle project. Several months ago Nicky approached the Southern California Live Steamers asking if he could perform his Eagle Scout service project at the SCLS facility here in Torrance. We were more than happy to help Nicky out with his project so he came down to visit us and look around to get some ideas on what needed to be done. One thing idea that came up was the cleanup and restoration of the creek bed that goes under our trestle bridge. The area was full of rocks and weeds and was looking rather poor. In fact the weeds were higher than the bridge in some places. This was the perfect project for Nicky so he took it on, submitted his plan to the Scouts for approval, and once approved proceeded to organize the supplies, and people to carry out the task. The Eagle project is not so much about the Eagle candidate performing the work as it is about organizing the job and getting volunteers and donors to help with the project showing the quality of leadership that is so much a part of the Eagle Scout award.

After the project was approved by the Scouting office, Nicky proceeded to obtain the required materials to do the job, organize the people that would be doing the job and schedule with us at SCLS when the job could be done.

Prior to starting the project, Nicky arranged for a local nursery to donate 130 bags of bark mulch, about a ton or pebbles for the creek bed, and purchased the odds and ends like weed guard, waterproof pond liner gloves, garbage bags etc...

The day before work was to begin, the nursery delivered the rocks and mulch so all was ready to go. The pictures below show the various parts of this project and the scale of the work to be done. This was not a task for the faint of heart but the kids and parents of Troop 378 did a fantastic job. No injuries and everything went like clockwork. The planning and execution was masterful, and there is no doubt in my mind that Nicky Lofgren will make an excellent Eagle Scout, thus upholding the tradition of excellence.

Great job Nicky and all, and we at the Southern California Live Steamers are very thankful for all of your hard work.

	Click on an image to enlarge
Starting area cleanup, stacking rocks, pulling weeds	Stacking rocks, pulling weeds	Stacking rocks, pulling weeds
Over 80 bags of trash and weeds were filled!	After the area was cleared of rocks and weeds the crew began to dig the new creek bed.	Weed guard was laid down on the new creek bed and surrounding areas.
The creek liner was put in place and filled with the pebbles.	Stones and pebbles used for the creek bed.	Rocks were added to the sides of the creek and plants were planted to make it look nice.
Over 130 bags of mulch to be put down.	Everyone helped carry the bags of wood chips to the creek and spread them out.	Spreading the wood chips around the area.
The scouts of Troop 378		Nicky and his parents at the completion of the project. Job Well Done!