Eight Boy Scouts have been awarded Youth Leadership Awards for volunteer efforts at parks in Fairfax and Arlington Counties. Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority Board Chairman Jim Mayer and NVRPA Executive Director Paul Gilbert presented the awards at an NVRPA meeting.
Under the supervision of NVRPA park managers, the Boy Scouts volunteered on various projects in Fairfax and Arlington counties. Casey White volunteered to work on a foot-trail relocation along the Bull Run Occoquan trail where he removed vegetation and wood debris, graded new tread and posted signs to route horses on a safe path. At Potomac Overlook Regional Park, Joseph Donahoe constructed and installed Leopold benches, while Samuel Teplitzky cleared invasive species from the land, planted 10 trees and constructed three birdhouses. Andrew Ofsonka repaired park benches and constructed trail markers and a wayside display at Occoquan Regional Park. On the Bull Run Occoquan trail, Brent Danowski built a 16-foot bridge across a creek, Garrett Smedley built a 20-foot bridge at mile 8.3, and Ryan Dick bridged an eroding gully with a small stream at mile 5.3. Jason Thomas volunteered at Occoquan Regional Park to clear plant growth inside the cemetery, mulch the entrance and wash and paint gravestones.