Hermosa Beach scout blazes Greenbelt trail
Trailblazing scout Justin Hoot enjoys the portion of the Greenbelt he improved. Photo by Rebecca Zisser
Justin Hoot runs cross-country and track, lifeguards, works on his school newspaper, and volunteers weekly at the Earnest P. Willenberg Special Education Center School in San Pedro. Somewhere within that hectic schedule, he found time to cut a trail through scraggly foliage to connect two previously separate portions of the Greenbelt parkway near the Hermosa-Manhattan Beach line.
Hoot, a Hermosan and a senior at Chadwick School, made it his Eagle Scout project to link the two portions of the Greenbelt, near the corner of 30th Street and Valley Drive. The popular Greenbelt bisects Hermosa and Manhattan running north and south.
“I wanted to make The Greenbelt better for people in Hermosa Beach,” Hoot said.
As a kid, Hoot played tag on a portion of Greenbelt by his house.
“I decided to expand it and bring it to other neighborhoods,” he said.
“First I had to write up the project, then I had to get it approved by my troop scout master and committee chair,” Hoot said.
Then he had to get approval from thecityParksand Recreation Commission, the City Council, and his Boy Scout troop’s district.
Once all that was done, the real planning started.
“I started fundraising and trying to get people to attend the project,” Hoot said.
He made flyers and sold T-shirts to get the word out.
“I raised over $500,” he said.
The actual trail took two days to build. Sixty-two people showed up to help on a Saturday and 30 on Sunday.
From start to finish Hoot spent four months working on the project, with the help of community businesses as well as volunteer labor. Boccato’s Groceries donated sandwiches for both days of the project, Jol Design helped Hoot design special project T-shirts, and The Dirt Yard donated soil for the new section of trail.
Hoot also received the help of Garrett Construction Company.
“Dave Garrett, the owner of the company, is one of my neighbors, so he helped me plan the project,” Hoot said. “He let us use a lot of his tools and his truck. He was really helpful.”
Hoot’s family also played an avid role.
“They helped me stay focused on my project and complete it,” he said.
Hoot has yet to earn the title of Eagle Scout.
“Once you finish your project you have to fill out paperwork,” he said.
He also will have to submit letters of recommendation, a personal statement, and appear before an Eagle Scout Board of Review.
Hoot himself said he learned a lot throughout the project.
“I learned that if you have an idea you can make something great happen,” he said, “and if you set out to do something people will be there to support you.”
Hoot has participated in Boy Scouts of America since the third grade, and theGreenbeltproject served as an extension of what he has already been doing for years.
“Boy Scouts has allowed me to do a lot of things that many people haven’t done,” he said, “it has given me a lot of life skills that can’t be taught anywhere else.”