By Michael LEVITSKY

Over the course of the year, the coronavirus has forced many places of business to temporarily shut down and most people to work from the confines of their home. With no restaurants to dine in, no movie theaters to sit in, and no gyms to exercise in, there has been a noticeable increase in outdoor activities such as biking, hiking and walking as people use any reason to escape their homes and be outside.

Seeing an opportunity to help locals in the community keep their sanity, local Boy Scout Patrick Venezia recently completed his Eagle Scout project by clearing trailpaths along the Dunsmore Canyon Trail in Deukmejian Wilderness Park.

“I knew it was a popular trail used by the people who live in my area and I wanted to make it more convenient for hikers to hike [there],” said Venezia via email.

For six consecutive Saturdays Venezia cleared large amounts of shrubbery that were crowding the trail. The roughly 1.6 mile hike has always been a popular go-to in the community, and now even more so as people have explored different ways to treat their cabin fever.

Having to adhere to social distancing guidelines, COVID-19 presented the challenge of working with limited help.

“It had a big effect on my working crew,” Venezia said. “I did not have any other participants from my troop help me due to social distancing, so I worked on my project with my family and with one City of Glendale volunteer, [which] was required by the City of Glendale.”

Despite the abbreviated crew, the newly-honored Eagle Scout acknowledged his satisfaction with the project’s extended six-week time frame, as it was a way for him to get away from the confined feeling that many are experiencing in response to the various ongoing COVID-19 shutdowns.

“This was something different from being stuck inside my home all the time. I loved getting out of the house to work on a project that would benefit my community,” he said.

Though many local business are only partially open, most walking and hiking trails remain open and, due to the work of Venezia and his team, easily accessible for all.

  Michael LEVITSKY, Patrick VENEZIA