On June 7, six kids from Bucksport High School spent the better part of their Friday morning clearing saplings and puckerbrush from ditches along Valley Road. Steward Brian Keegstra had laid out the project beforehand, and Stephen Krichels of BHS, assisted by Nathan Sprangers and Jen Bowden, coordinated the effort at the school.
In the picture to the right, participants are (from left to right) Sebastien, Nathan Sprangers (staff), Hunter, Brigette, Jen Bowden (staff), Jackie, Geneva, Stephen Krichels, and Sarah.
The kids worked industriously. Designated project completed, they were treated to a treasure hunt and a picnic overlooking the mountains at the Toolshed Clearing.
Despite a most forbidding forecast, the rains held off, and the day was a huge success, the latest in a series of youth happenings in the Wildlands. Kids from KidsPeace in Ellsworth have been working regularly for years; more recently, various Boy Scout and Venture Crew members have camped, made improvements, “adopted” and maintained trails through the foothills. Reach School kids are in there camping and making improvements as we speak, and word reaches GPMCT headquarters that a troop of Brownies from Orland recently earned merit badges for ferreting out and signing in at our newly installed Letter Boxes. Welcome Kids! Welcome All! (And thank you BHS for your efforts yesterday.)