Boy Scouts build two spans at Dobbs Preserve
A group of Boy Scouts from Pine Island Troop 20 and members of the Calusa Land Trust gathered at Dobbs Preserve recently to celebrate the completion of two bridges built by the scouts. The project was the Eagle Project for Scout Robert “Shep” Brinson.
The Dobbs Preserve consists of 70 acres purchased from Herbert and Edna Dobbs by the Calusa Land Trust in 1999 and an adjacent 20 acres in conservation easements held by Lee County. The preserve lies between the Tropical Homesites development and Matlacha Pass with the entrance on Sabal Avenue.
The Eagle Scout project included two bridges. The first is at the entrance on Sabal Avenue and the second is down the path and spans an old mosquito ditch through some mangroves.
“Recently, the Calusa Land Trust has cleared the small upland portion of invasive Australian pine and melaleuca,” Calusa Land Trust president John Kendall said. “We still have more exotic vegetation removal that needs to be done in the transition zone between the privately owned upland border and the mangroves that make up the bulk of the preserve.”
The island scout troop has often helped with work needed to be done at the preserve.
“Historically, Scout Troop 20 has been there for us,” Kendall said. “They’ve helped us with planting, stewardship and so many things over the years. Because of that close rapport occasionally Scout Master Mel Brinson will come to us asking if we have a list of ‘wish’ projects. We always have small projects on our ‘to-do’ list and it helps the scout achieve Eagle Scout status and helps us at the same time.”
The purpose of the Calusa Land Trust is to protect the natural diversity and beauty of the Pine Island region by acquiring, managing and preserving in perpetuity environmentally sensitive or historically important land and to foster appreciation for and understanding of the environment and our past.
Visit the website at www.CalusaLandTrust.org for additional information.