Hammer Crew
Ongoing Improvements to Nobscot

All designated Nobscot sites

• Invasive plants:  On-going effort to remove, primarily Buckthorn, bittersweet, burning bush and knotweed. 

• All designated (named) campsites with cabins/lodges, lean-tos, or tenting have had:

  • Extensive clearing of excess underbrush.

  • Clearing of outdoor FireRings, FirePits, or free-standing chimneys for cooking and campfires.

  • Log seating around the FireRings or FirePits.

  • An abundant supply of nearby split and stacked firewood for units to use.

Cabins and Lodges

• All cabins now have the necessary brooms, shovels, rakes, etc. 

• All cabins with fireplaces now have fireplace-inserts to provide better heating

• Many cabins have been upgraded with:

  • new metal roofs

  • new windows

  • new interior pine board paneling

  • bunk ladders, bunk rails, new mattresses

  • new concrete steps and doorways

  • regrading of many cabin sites to better allow for tenting

  • exterior cabin staining

  • log-seating around outside FirePits/FireRings

  • new picnic tables

• Structural: complete renovation/rebuild of Cabin 39

• Structural: rotted sills, floor joists, floors, and siding issues remedied in several cabins, including Cabin 18, Cabin 21, PondView, Legion, Cabin 11, Assabet, Cabin 39.

Lean-tos

• Structural: complete rebuild of Cabin 39 latrine

• Extreme makeovers for Ellisland and Peabody latrines

• All lean-to sites now have: 

  • new lean-to roofs.

  • log-seating around outside FirePits/FireRings.

  • a new picnic table.

  • a broom and a shovel. 

Tenting Sites

• Tenting sites have had extensive clearing of excess underbrush.

• Squanto tentsite added.

• All Tenting Sites now have: 

  • a picnic table

  • log-seating around outside FirePits/FireRings

• Additional “Undeveloped” Tenting sites are being added to provide more tenting capacity at the busiest times. Undeveloped Tenting Site: a tenting site with fewer services. A fire ring is provided, but no split firewood supplied, no picnic table, no log benches.  

• Haydenland, Ellisland, and Explorer Alley, expanded and reclaimed grassy areas by brushing back the overgrowth.  

•  Poison Ivy controlled.

Latrines

• Latrines have been “pumped out”.

• The Latrines at Webelos Woods, Legion Lodge, Jethro Trail, and at the overnight parking lot have been freshened up and updated with interior paneling and new exterior stain. 

• The latrine at Cabin 39 has been completely renovated.

• Most latrines have new metal roofs.

Trees and Firewood

• Many hundreds of hazard trees have been taken down by volunteers with the Nobscot Hammer Crew and Team Rubicon.

• Many hundreds of cords of wood have been cut, split, and seasoned for Scouting units to use.

• A portable sawmill was used to turn trees into wood siding for re-siding buildings around Nobscot. Notably Cabin 39 and 13.

• An abundant supply of split and stacked firewood is provided for Scout units to use.

Water 

• Water treatment system for Legion and Henderson installed

• Water pumps have been repaired and are tested regularly

• Rehab of well at Cabin 26

• Well conversion at Mahoney's underway to serve Haydenland. 

Camp entrance, Trails and Parking lots

• The entire Nobscot front entrance area has been cleaned up and landscaped by NAA volunteers.

• The Andersen Welcome Center has been rebuilt.

• The two main parking lots and the causeway between the parking lots have been regraded.

• Culverts under trails have been repaired and trail work has been done to help control erosion.

Main buildings

• White Lodge bathroom renovation 

• Hendersen Lodge interior repairs and painting 

• Interior lighting upgrades

• Shop improvements

Signs

• New signs on Cabins, Lean-tos, and designated tenting sites are in progress.

• New Trail signs are in progress.

Trails

• Mayflower Council has financed extensive repairs and improvements performed on trails by an outside contractor.

Regular Maintenance

• Latrine cleaning  

• Clipping brush along trails

• Expanding tenting sites by cutting back on the invading brush

• Spraying wet & forget on asphalt roofs

• Grass mowing, removing invasive plants, spraying poison ivy

• Cabin interior cleaning, carpet cleaning