Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By NATHAN HOWELL | Special to the Reporter

HELENA – Jacob Strickland, junior at Helena High School, recently completed a project working toward earning his Eagle Scout rank designed to improve Joe Tucker Park for both citizens and wildlife.

“I am currently working on earning my Eagle Scout rank,” Strickland said. “As a junior at Helena High School, I have lived in Helena my entire life, which is why I wanted to complete my project here.”

For the project, Strickland took on two tasks: providing information to citizens visiting the park, and creating a solution to the fishing line that is often left on the ground in the park.

“We all love Joe Tucker Park for many different reasons,” Strickland said. “The lake is a big part of that, but with the lake comes a community responsibility to take care of it and protect it for generations to come.”

Strickland began by constructing an information kiosk that gives guests knowledge on a variety of topics.

Some of the information in the kiosk includes information about wildlife that might be found in the area, requirements for getting a fishing license, resources to report injured animals and information for those who come to walk the park for exercise. The kiosk also elaborates on laws pertaining to fishing.

For the other part of the project, Strickland noticed and wanted to create a solution to a problem affecting guests and wildlife in the park.

Fishing line is often left by those who come to fish in the park. Strickland constructed four fishing line receptacles to encourage guests to properly dispose of their line.

“Far too often geese, ducks, park visitors and even city lawn equipment become entangled in fishing line left on the ground,” he explained. “These receptacles will be a small, simple structure that will hopefully ease this particular burden in our park.”

To complete the project, Strickland created a GoFundMe campaign, hoping to raise $1,025.

The campaign was fully funded, which led to the completion of the project.