RVC Boy Scout Rehabilitates Nature Walk to Smith Pond

With the construction of Avalan Bay's three-story luxury rental units, more attention has been drawn to the area surrounding it — an area primarily known for having a dusty baseball field at Reverend Days and a bus terminal.

Yet Rockville Centre’s Daniel O’Brien, 16, saw something different. He saw an opportunity for service to the community and revival for the area by cleaning the paved nature walk that leads to Smith Pond, a path that has long been neglected.

“I began this with the help of Mr. Anthony Brunetta, who is Superintendent of Parks in RVC,” O'Brien said. “I didn’t even know about the nature walk before this.”

With that, his Eagle Service project with RVC’s Troop 163 was born.

The path behind Avalon Bay has been around for nearly 50 years. With the path in such disarray, there was plenty of work to be done in nursing it back to health.

“The nature trail itself was so overgrown that you could hardly see people that were three or four feet into it,” said Jennifer O’Brien, Daniel’s mother and assistant scoutmaster to Troop 163. “From the perimeter of the parking lot and the paved section that goes through involved a ton of garbage cleanup as well.”

Between cutting down the excessive vegetation, compiling trash and cutting up fallen trees that were making the path inaccessible for foot traffic, O'Brien and Troop 163 had inherited a daunting cleanup task.

Considering that Eagle Service project rules prohibt spending from one's own pocket, O'Brien fundraised and borrowed the materials necessary for the landscaping. This included using tools from his volunteer firefighter father, Paul, and reaching out to local businesses and residents.

“Mostly it was a written letter and then going to the stores and asking the store manager what they could do for us,” he said. “Then we went to a few places like Pizza Joint, Dunkin’ Donuts, Waldbaums and Three Brothers Pizza and they were all very helpful with their donations.”

Apart from funding for the project, several of the donors also provided food and water to feed and hydrate the troops working on the trail.

Though the area still requires some work, including removing shopping carts from the Smith Pond dock, the path is more open than ever for a stroll or catch and release fishing on the water.

“I definitely think that Avalon Bay and this path will breathe new life to area,” O'Brien said. “It’s a small getaway right in your backyard.”