Ashwath Jose Sridhar (Ash) is a Sophomore from Hopkinton High School, a Boy Scout and an Eagle Scout Candidate from Troop 4 Hopkinton. Eagle Scout is the highest honor in Scouting and requires the accomplishment of various tasks to earn the rank. One of these tasks is to carry out an Eagle Scout Service Project – an opportunity for a Scout to demonstrate leadership while performing a project which will contribute to the betterment of the community.

Ash’s service project was to build a 40 feet long and 4 feet wide bridge which spans over a historically wet marshy area on one of the Whitehall Woods trails at Hopkinton. The trail is used by many hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, runners, and friendly dog walkers. The project’s goal was to increase accessibility and usability, as users would no longer need an off-trail route, and will also stop damaging the ecosystem surrounding the marshy area.

Ash raised funds for this project through contributions from family, friends and other businesses. He built and delivered a truly community bridge by leading many partners in the woods, Scouts from Troop 4, and other student volunteers from Hopkinton High School.

The bridge was built on property owned by Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT). Hopkinton Conservation Commission and Hopkinton Area Land Trust (HALT – holds the conservation restriction on this property) graciously gave the approval to build the bridge. Ash took construction inputs from Blackstone Valley New England Mountain Bikers Association (BV-NEMBA) and the Bay State Trail Riders Association (BSTRA). It is rated to hold horses and the concrete footings were a suggestion from SVT.