Scout makes Voorhees forest more accessible

Josh Siegel's path to an Eagle Scout badge winds through a pristine patch of Voorhees called Ashland Woods.

The trail he's blazing, designing, and building will improve public access to nearly 20 densely forested, out-of-the-way acres off Evesham Road.

Voorhees purchased and preserved Ashland Woods from development two years ago for $1.6 million, using township, county, and state funds.

The land borders the John T. Hale Sr. Memorial Park and the Cooper River's south branch.

"I like nature," Siegel, 16, says, explaining why he chose the woods for his project. "I like to hike."

When the Eastern High School junior describes his effort as "bigger than most Eagle Scout projects," he's being modest.

The trail is designed as a graceful, mile-long series of wide, looping paths. It has been carved through dense underbrush and routed to avoid wetlands; officials estimated it could have cost Voorhees as much as $10,000 to have a contractor do the entire job.

"We have to make it as natural as possible," notes Siegel, a six-year member of Troop 48 in Berlin Borough.

"Trail-cutting is a big thing to take on, but Josh wanted to do something that would challenge him," Scoutmaster Mike McCormick says.

"This is one of the biggest projects I've ever seen a kid take on. Even before he cut a branch, he had to plan, do paperwork, and go before Scouting District [officials] to explain the project."

Siegel is quick to acknowledge the contributions of between 25 and 30 people - including fellow Scouts, friends, township officials, even his grandmother - who have helped so far.

The Voorhees Township Environmental Commission oversees the project and has worked with its consultant, CME Associates, to ensure that the route of the trail will have only a minimum impact on the environment; no live trees have been felled.

"In a time of shrinking budgets and the township trying to do more with less, this [project] is invaluable," Commission Chairman Ed Hale says. "It's a real collaborative effort."

CME Associates, which has an office in Marlton, did its work free. The township pitched in with five truckloads of mulch for the trail surface. And volunteers brought chain saws, weed-cutters, and wheelbarrows.

"I was in charge of the food," says Siegel's grandmother Shirley Levey. "Josh was in charge of the rest."

Siegel, who is soft-spoken but intense, says he began planning the project a year ago. He conferred with Hale, walked the woods with a GPS - twice - and tagged trees with biodegradable orange tags to mark the route.

On Saturdays and Sundays beginning in early September, teams of volunteers began working under his direction, starting at 9 a.m. and finishing in the late afternoon.

"I had a clipboard, a sign-in sheet, and a map," Siegel says. "I wanted to look professional."

Six sessions were held until falling leaves and other troop commitments ended work for the season on Oct. 26. The entire trail has been cut, but the second half still must be mulched.

"The weather was a challenge, and so was the variable number of people who would show up," says Siegel, adding that he expects to complete the work by the early spring of 2015.

"Josh wanted to do something for his own community," his mother, Wendy, says. His father, Jeff, says, "This project will bring pleasure to many people. . . . I'm very proud of Josh and would hold him [up] as an example of a good citizen."

The beautiful landscape of Ashland Woods "deserves" the hard work, Josh Siegel says.

"I feel we've done a very good job," he adds. "Mainly, I'm proud. And a little tired."