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05/25/2017 12:01 AMOf all the wild things you might scout at Bushy Hill, books are now on the list, too, thanks to a donation of a Little Free Library by Chester Girl Scout Troop 67507.
“We wanted to do something for Bushy Hill because we had an overnight camping trip there, and we wanted to say thank you for that,” said scout Cecilia Wilkens. “Bushy hill has a lot of cool books and things on nature and animals and we thought they might need somewhere to put them so they can be easy to get to.”
“We sold cookies like we do every year and we were trying to think of something else to do, and then Becky and Sarah came up with the idea and shared it with us, and we thought let’s do it,” said scout Sydney Liggett
The girls built the weather-tight wooden structure (with a little help from scout-dad Charlie Iselin).
“We had a lot of wood from scraps that my dad had, and we painted it, used sandpaper to smooth the wood out, we used an air gun to put the nails in easier, and we made a door to help keep the books dry,” said Sadie Iselin.
“I like that we took our time with it and got a nice learning experience instead of having Sadie’s dad do it all and take the credit,” said Liggett. “I learned a lot about carpentry.”
After sanding and painting, the girls stenciled the Bushy Hill logo on the back and put the hand prints of troop members on the inside.
“I think it’s a great project,” said Charlie Iselin. “I’ve been a big fan of the library for a number of years, and a really great thing to get involved in. I kind of wanted to mirror what we did with the cub scouts, [where we] did similar projects with my son—why not girls? Girls can learn woodworking, too. It’s a fun hobby.”
The girls did enjoy learning the building process; using the airgun was a favorite part for several of them, along with painting the structure. They each got their own measuring tape, learned how to use the saws, and even took a field trip to study architecture before starting the building to learn about how these skills are used in other ways.
Altogether, it took about four to five hours across four troop meetings to complete the project. They even included some of their own books to start the library off.
“I like it because anyone can take books, and it’s a community, and you can keep the book as long as you put a book back in,” said scout Laura Gessner.
“It’s also easier than a regular library. You don’t need a card or need to remember to take it back, you just need to bring a book of your own you don’t want anymore and you can take a book to keep it,” added Liggett. “It’s a free way to get new books.”
The Little Free Library will be installed on Sunday, June 4, with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, June 5. The troop is also planting morning glories that it hopes will grow up around the post.
“Each of us took some seeds home and are growing them at our house, and we’ll bring them with us,” said Gessner.
Bushy Hill Nature Center Director Jen Malaguti is excited to see this new addition at the nature center.
“We are a community center even though it’s a private property. During the school year we are open to the public to come and hike, but the nature center isn’t open all the time,” said Malaguti. “We have a nice little pond in our parking lot area with a picnic table and this will be placed out there, and so we’ll have that and it will be open for the public to grab a book any time—whatever the girls or community supply—but we also have tracking books or pond identification books or various field guides that people can come and borrow, and just follow the philosophy of the library.”
The ribbon cutting ceremony will be Monday, June 5 at Bushy Hill Nature Center at 3:45 p.m., and is open to the public. The girl scouts hope people will stop by and bring a book to contribute to this new community space.