Christopher Bourque, Creek Chapter chief for the Order of the Arrow, has been a very busy young man the past several months. Bourque is an outstanding scout with Troop 401. When he became Creek Chapter chief for Tomo Chi-Chi Lodge 119, he realized he had to select and organize a service project for the local community.
After discussing ideas with his troop representative, Mr. Postrollo, he began planning a project with David C. Sapp, director of the Liberty County Solid Waste Department.  They determined a suitable project would be to landscape and beautify the Isle of Wight Waste Collection and Recycling Center on Highway 84. They chose this site because improvement would make a significant visual impact for travelers on Highway 84 as well as for those using this busy collection site in Midway.
The Order of the Arrow is recognized as the Boy Scouts of America’s national brotherhood honoring campers in the scout program. The purpose of the group is to recognize Scouts who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives.  
The one thing you know immediately when you begin a project with a group like this is that it will turn out great. Being the good Scout that he is, Bourque realized that to execute a project like this successfully, he would need the guidance of an expert in the landscaping field. He solicited the assistance of Keith Welch with Ground Control of Savannah to help him in planning the layout for the beautification project. Welch also helped determine the supplies and equipment needed for the prep work as well as actually implementing the plan.
Welch, a scout leader himself, and Jim Williams, the Order of the Arrow advisor, helped  in planning the steps needed to complete this project, from ordering the plants to soliciting volunteers from local Scout troops.
After months of preparing paperwork for various approvals needed and planning meetings, the actual day arrived to bring the project to life — Feb. 10.
The boys worked hard the first several hours prepping the soil for planting, shaping the mounds, and laying the landscape fabric to prevent weeds. It was pretty exciting for all of us when the plants arrived.  
Bourque and Welch had created a plan including Natchez and Tuscorora Crape Myrtles, as well as Lorapetalum Ruby, Viburnum, and Indian Hawthorns planted in mounds covered in a mulch of pine straw with accents of white shell and landscape bollards.
A bollard is a nautical term for a strong post on a wharf used for securing ropes. The bollards and the shell add just the right coastal touch to this landscape. It is similar to the landscape at the newest convenience center in Liberty County on Fort Morris Road. Hopefully, all of the convenience centers will eventually be landscaped in the same manner.
We owe our thanks to Christopher; his advisors for the project, Williams and Welch; and the scouts from Troops  401 and 461 who assisted in the effort:  Andrew Bourque, Raaquim Rispress, Nephi Rispress, Mathew Herr, Keith Cebolla, Forrest Deleeuw, and R. J. Wynn.  
The Bourque family supported Christopher as well.
Bourque’s parents, Kenneth and Michelle, as well as his brother, Andrew, and sister, Monique, worked right alongside him all day. It is always nice to see families working as a team. The Bourques are a great team!
Thanks also to the county road department staff, who helped earlier in the week in prepping the soil and shaping the mounds of dirt for planting. And, as always, those guys with the county solid waste department make things happen.
Thanks to Dave Sapp and his staff for providing supplies and equipment as well as manpower with Gary Eckman’s expert tractor work in preparing those holes for the posts.  
So many people in the Midway area have expressed their delight in how attractive the center looks. What a great project!
Bourque had shared with me a quote from one of the founders for the Order of the Arrow, E. Urner Goodman: “You were selected as pacesetters in cheerful service.”
I think Mr. Goodman would say that describes you perfectly, Chris. Thanks for your efforts to make Liberty County Beautiful!  

Upcoming events with KLCB
• Feb. 28: Deadline to register for the Youth Clean Community Challenge. Call 368-4888 or email me at klcb@coastalnow.net  for more information.
• March 1-May 31: Great American Cleanup in Liberty County — Keep America Beautiful’s national cleanup event
Volunteers are needed throughout the county to help organize and implement roadside cleanups and community beautification projects.
If you, your family, your neighborhood, your organization or your business would be able to sponsor or participate, contact Sara Swida at 368-4888. For more information about KLCB, contact Sara Ann Swida at 368-4888 or klcb@coastalnow.net.