Sudbury Scouts Build New Retaining Wall for Brimstone Lane

Sudbury Boy Scout Troop 61 is celebrating its 77th year this year, and as part of its celebration the Troop recently built a retaining wall on the Nobscot conservation land at Brimston Lane.

Jack Mannherz led 18 scouts in building the retaining wall. Advancing toward Eagle, the highest rank in Boy Scouts, Jack organized and directed this construction as his Eagle Scout community service project. The wall was completed on May 12 and took 164 hours of labor.

"After gaining town approval, fund raising, purchasing of lumber, and other preparations on Jack’s part, the construction went smoothly and was finished earlier than anticipated," said fellow Troop 61 member Gavin Mays.

Mays said before the retaining wall was built, Brimstone Lane was a location with many sections of loose dirt that would erode after heavy precipitation.

"Loose dirt held together by the tree roots of pine saplings would wash downhill and into the nearby trail’s parking area," he said. "In order to prevent this, the retaining wall was built out of sturdy landscaping timbers reinforced with steel rebar, capable of holding back large amounts of loose dirt. Built up two feet tall, the area behind the wall was filled with compacted clay to compensate for the dirt lost by past erosion. Gravel in front of the wall allows runoff water to drain easily into the ground."

The end result of this project was a 69-foot long section of Brimstone’s hill reinforced to withstand erosion from the heaviest of rains in years to come.

Troop 61 is a Boy Scout Troop in the Knox Trail Council’s Liberty District in Sudbury.