It’s a showdown as old as agriculture itself:  farmers vs. rabbits. 

This season at Gaining Ground, Eagles have also entered the mix.

We’re thrilled that two aspiring local Eagle Scouts, Nathaniel Ely (Troop 132) and Charles Mastromarino (Troop 135), chose to complete their capstone service projects on Virginia Road, installing a combined 1,000 feet of hardware cloth around the farm’s perimeter to keep cottontails out and reduce pest pressure from bunnies that can damage up to 10 percent of our annual crop. 

“Rabbits are a problem for any farmer, but because our mission is to nourish our neighbors in need, we really want to protect these crops,” said Mark Congdon, Director of Agriculture at Gaining Ground. 

SCOUTS HONOR

Charles, a rising junior at Concord-Carlisle High School, joined the Boy Scouts of America the winter after COVID lockdown. 

“My friends were Scouts and I wanted to see them more often,” he said. “I also wanted to do something outdoors. I never thought, when I started, that I would make it all the way to Eagle Scout, but as I earned second-class rank and first-class, I could see the finish line.” 

To cross that finish line—and earn the highest achievement possible in Scouting—Charles had to plan, lead, and see through a group service project to benefit the community. He said Gaining Ground was a natural choice, because he had previously volunteered as a member of the High School Farm Team. 

“I just really like the farm:  how it’s nestled in the woods, all the open space, being outdoors working with others, and the hunger relief mission,” he said. “It feels nice to be there.”

“BE PREPARED”

Although Nathaniel and Charles approached their Scout projects separately, their combined efforts helped us address the same problem on the farm, during our most abundant season to date. But it wasn’t as simple as showing up and installing the fence. On the contrary, an Eagle Scout service project calls upon young leaders to embody the Scout’s motto, “Be prepared.” (Incidentally, that could also be the farmer’s motto!)

“The first part of a service project is planning,” Charles said. “That is arguably the most important work.”

That’s why Charles said the best decision he made leading up to the project was meeting with Avery Indermaur, our Volunteer and Outreach Manager. She helped Charles go over a checklist of what to expect on the farm, where everything would be located, and what materials were readily available. 

Avery also told Charles about one of the challenges he and his team would have to overcome:  a patch of poison ivy that needed to be cleared before work could be done. 

“That’s a big lesson I learned,” he said. “Check in before you’re doing something important.”

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

On the day of his project, Charles led a team of 17 friends and family members on site, planning to install about 200 feet of rabbit fencing. 

Mother nature also showed up, with morning rain so heavy, the group had to seek shelter under a tent; and high temperatures in the afternoon that challenged them to keep cool. About halfway through the project, the group also ran low on zip ties. Charles problem-solved, delegated, and kept morale high. (Not only did they get more zip ties, but his mom also returned to the farm with pizza for lunch.)

“That day gave me a sense of working in nature—with nature,” he said. “You have to take what comes at you. You have to deal with the conditions of your environment. That’s something I’ve experienced on camping trips with the Boy Scouts, too.”

In the end, Charles and his team went far beyond their own expectations, installing 500 feet of fencing. 

“It was a very welcome surprise,” he said. “Everyone was working really well together, it was nicely coordinated, and things moved a lot faster than I thought they would.”

Want to support Gaining Ground with a community service project? Let us know by contacting office@gainingground.org!