AUBURN — Jared Kirn, 16, of Philadelphia, completed his Eagle Scout project at the Oldmans Creek in Auburn on Saturday, Oct. 28.
Kirn, a member of Troop 37, made three wooden benches for his Eagle Scout project. The benches were installed at key points at the Oldmans Creek Preserve for visitors to use. Kirn was helped by other members of Troop 37 and his family.
Aidan Campbell, 16, of Philadelphia, completed his Eagle Scout project at the Oldmans Creek on Nov. 11. Campbell, a member of Council of Liberty’s Troop 37, cleared more than 750 square feet of brush that had been overgrown with multiflora rose, an invasive plant.
Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) is native to the Eurasian continent and was introduced as a means to combat erosion. Multiflora rose is a nasty, thorny invasive that dominates soil that has been disturbed and been enriched with nitrogen or phosphorus, such as farm fields or former homesteads.
To cap his project, Campbell put up a sign to alert visitors to the invasive plant. The cleared area was seeded with white aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides), a native wildflower. Campbell was helped by other members of Troop 37 and his family.
Oldmans Creek Preserve is a 40-acre nature preserve in Oldmans Township, Salem County, just south of Woolwich Township. The property was preserved in 2009 with funding from Green Acres.
Prior to preservation, the property was owned by the MacKannan family and operated as a private campground called Auburn Hills. From 1938 to 1967, it was operated as a Boy Scout Camp called Camp Kimble.
Michael Calliagas, 16, of Philadelphia, completed his Eagle Scout project at the Oldmans Creek Preserve in Auburn on Saturday, November 18th 2017. Calliagas, a member of Council of Liberty’s Troop 563, made a fire pit for the preserve for the South Jersey Land and Water Trust to use for events. Calliagas made benches for the fire pit from telephone poles that were used for camping when the preserve was a campground called Auburn Hills. Additionally, Calliagas made a wood shack to store wood to use in the fire pit. Calliagas was helped by other members of Troop 563, friends from Troop 37, members of the Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America, “The Order of the Arrow”, and his friends and family.
Oldmans Creek Preserve is open to the public seven days a week from dawn to dusk.
