Move over Snookie! Andover has a brand new boardwalk in town.
Andover's boardwalk story has a lot less drama than Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi's reality TV show Jersey Shore, set on a New Jersey boardwalk. Here, it's all about an Andover teen who simply wanted to do something nice for his hometown.
He's Evan Doyle, an Eagle Scout candidate who's about to be an Andover High School sophomore. An avid hiker who uses local walking trails in town, he selected the Robert Pustell Reservation as his Eagle Scout project. At Pustell Reservation, there was no way to connect to other nearby trails - unless you wore knee-high boots and long sleeves.
The entrance to the reservation was swampy and overgrown with brush. Doyle set out to change that.
Doyle, 15, designed and built a 60-foot boardwalk and woodchip-covered path at the Pustell Reservation that will benefit local walkers and hikers for years to come. He was required to keep track of time spent on the project and it added up to 149 hours and 18 minutes of Doyle dedication.
"Through Evan's fantastic planning, dedication and effort, the town now has a beautiful new access trail to this reservation," David Bunting of the Andover Trails Committee wrote in a recent e-mail to "Andover Trailheads."
Located on Powers Road, which is off Woburn Street, the Pustell Reservation is flat and enjoyable, but very swampy in the spring and during wet summers. Now, it's a nicely finished trail with a two-foot high boardwalk over that formerly swampy section.
The reservation transformation happened Saturday, Aug. 7. Doyle Lumber (no relation) delivered already-cut, pressure-treated wood to the scene. Doyle said he had a team of 23 volunteers ready to work. The volunteers were from his Scout Troop 77, Troop 75, AVIS, the Andover Trails Committee and his family. Doyle had the needed tools set up in marked orange buckets and a set of directions for everyone.
"We just went to work," said Doyle, who lives on Tiffany Lane with his family, parents Nila and Tom Doyle and sister, Sara Doyle. "The eight-foot posts went six feet in the ground, so it's very sturdy."
A Scout for the past eight years, he said he enjoys being outdoors. He's also a member of the Andover High School Environmental Club and volunteers at his school's sustainable garden. Every Saturday, he volunteers at Andover Farmers' Market and sells vegetables from the AHS garden.
He wanted to get involved with an Eagle Scout project "that would benefit his community."
"Andover's got some good trails that I like, so I thought this project would be good," he said.
Meetings with the Andover Trails and Conservation committees followed. His search for a sponsor ended with Pfizer donating about $500.
Doyle Lumber gave a discount and cut the wood for free. The River Road lumber company also delivered wood for free and gave Doyle some construction advice. The town donated the wood chips and delivered them to the site.
"Everyone really worked together," Doyle said.
