Recent Gloucester High School graduate and aspiring Eagle Scout Rafael Jabba completed his required community service project which aided the Essex County Greenbelt Association with a years-long trail improvement project in Gloucester.
Jabba led a team of volunteers over three days this summer digging holes for and installing 12 wooden posts and temporary signage at trail intersections in the Tompson Street Reservation, a 338-acre property in West Gloucester that has not been well marked historically.
“The posts have numbers on them and then you could see on the map where the numbers are labeled and know where you are,” Jabba said. “They also include the names of the trails on the posts and directions to the parking lots and other trails to help people navigate.”
For a Boy Scout to become an Eagle Scout, there are a number of criteria that must be met, including the completion of a community service project. Jabba said he knew he wanted his project to be focused on hiking trails.
His initial idea was to help restore trails in Dogtown but a quick Google search led him to Greenbelt so he reached out to the Essex-based nonprofit to see what projects he could help with.
Since 2021, Greenbelt Land and Trail Manager Dave McKinnon has been working to significantly improve the navigation of the Tompson Street Reservation trails.
“Through user experience and our own experience, we found that it was a very challenging property to navigate — we would get the most reports about people getting lost or turned around out there,” McKinnon said.
Over the past five years McKinnon has led a project to reimagine all the trails on the property, changing some of the more popular to color-coded trails, and put up more helpful signage to improve navigation for both people on the trails and first responders.
Jabba’s project was another step in this ongoing effort, which McKinnon expects to be completed this fall.
“The heavy lift of the whole thing was carrying all the posts out and installing those 12 markers — which was a huge help,” McKinnon said.
Jabba said he found the physical work of installing the posts easier than expected, but this was one of the first teams he led which came with its challenges.
“I would say scheduling and making sure it lines up with everyone’s work and time off was the hardest part,” he said. “Also getting all the permissions, waivers, and getting all the tools and materials was something I needed to pay attention to.”
Before Jabba can become a full-fledged Eagle Scout, he said he still has some paperwork related to his project to fill out, including an essay to write and five references to submit before a final interview is held to determine if he should receive the Eagle Scout rank.
As for Greenbelt, McKinnon said it is continuing to work on improving the signage at the Tompkins Street Reservation. He said the group is working on permanent metal signs to screw onto the posts Jabba helped install.
Staff Writer Bobby Grady may be contacted at 978-675-2714 or bgrady@gloucestertimes.com.