Alex Wright has sought to organize a cleanup and restoration of a seating and viewing area of the lake.
Strawbridge Lake is a popular, family-friendly attraction in Moorestown, but in years past, sections have become overgrown with weeds and poison ivy. Focusing his Eagle Scout project on improving this community landscape, 16-year-old Alex Wright, a junior at Moorestown High School, developed a plan to restore the area.
Working with representatives from Moorestown Parks and Recreation Department, Save the Environment Moorestown and the Moorestown Environmental Advisory Committee, he sought to organize a cleanup and restoration of a seating and viewing area of the lake.
“I knew I wanted my Eagle project to be involved with Strawbridge Lake. I was working with Theresa Miller from Parks and Recreation Department and Chet Dawson from the Environmental Advisory Committee. Dawson was the one that suggested this particular project,” Wright said.
After months of planning, on Saturday, Oct. 22, Sunday, Oct. 23, Saturday Oct. 29 and Sunday, Oct. 30, Wright, along with members of the Moorestown High School football and lacrosse teams and neighbors from Strawbridge Lake, helped clean the area. Using rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows, chainsaws, a rototiller, clippers and gloves, they created wider pathways and laid seven tons of new crushed red stone, donated by Leonberg Nursery.
“My dad called Leonberg to order the stone and started to talk to one of the employees about the Eagle project. Then the owner, Curt Leonberg, got on the phone and started saying how he is an Eagle Scout and that his two sons and father are all Eagle Scouts,” Wright said. “He initially donated seven tons of stone, but that wasn’t enough to finish the area, so he agreed to donate three additional tons.”
To further add to the aesthetics of the lake, Wright wishes to install a new wildflower garden and hopes to raise enough funds to install new park benches in the area during the spring. So far, he has raised approximately $600 from friends, family and neighbors of Strawbridge Lake. He hopes to raise additional funds to cover these costs by exploring possible options such as GoFundMe.
“It will help make the area look even better, and I will be able to do this with just a few volunteers,” Wright said.
Wright recalled that the stages of the project thus far have been very involved and needed a lot of planning and consulting with the township, however the area is already getting a lot of use. On the morning of Sunday, Oct. 30 while he was working, he saw a family with young kids come by to fish from the newly cleared, area that had previously been unusable for years.
In regard to obtaining his Eagle Scout status, Wright says he still must earn a few badges. After becoming an Eagle Scout, his next goal entails going to college to possibly study public relations and advertising.
“Scouting has taught me a lot of important life skills and has helped me to better work as a leader and a teammate. It has also instilled in me a strong sense of giving back to the community,” Wright said. “I believe these skills will stay with me long after Scouting, and I hope one day I can help another scout just like the way Leonberg, Miller and Dawson have helped me.”
