Those who want to hike in Beverly D. Clyburn Generations Park will find the trails easier thanks to a senior from Aiken High School.

Thomas Watkins, 17, and the other 10-15 Boy Scouts of Troop 146 recently set up trail markers at the park on Columbia Highway (US Route 1) north of town.

Placing the signs was the project that Watkins used to advance to the rank of Eagle Scout.

Eagle Scout is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America organization. Eagle Scouts must earn 21 merit badges and lead and complete a service project.

Watkins said his father, Robert, and brother are Eagle Scouts and he wants to follow in their footsteps by joining the Boy Scouts and becoming an Eagle Scout.

However, he said he didn’t know which service project he would be participating in until the force received an email.

“We’ve been looking for a project,” Watkins said Thursday. “Brian Loging from the city emailed a group of Boy Scout groups to ask if they would come to Take a Hike Day.”

Loging is the coordinator of the city’s leisure program.

“We said, sure, we’ll go,” Watkins continued. “As we walked around, we saw that the trails weren’t really well marked, so you could get lost pretty easily if you didn’t know what you were doing.”

Watkins said he asked for and received permission to put up the signs for his project.

The first step is to meet with city officials and determine the need for trail systems in the park, Watkins said.

The park has three hiking trails: red (2.4 km), green (1.6 km) and blue (1.37 km).

Afterwards, the whole team took part in the production and assembly of the signs.

The younger members learned how to perform certain tasks, and the older Scouts taught and took on the more technical tasks, Watkins said.

The Aiken City Council recognized Watkins and the rest of the squad at a recent city council meeting.

Councilwoman Lessie Price read a proclamation honoring Watkins and the other Boy Scouts at the council meeting on August 12.

Price is a Democrat who represents the 2nd District on the City Council, which includes the park.

Price and Aiken Mayor Teddy Milner presented Watkins with the proclamation at the meeting.

“It’s kind of surprising because I never imagined my project would get this big,” Watkins said.

Watkins said that now that he is an Eagle Scout, he plans to complete his senior year at Aiken High School before heading off to college to study political science.

He said he is considering the University of South Carolina’s Columbia campus, as well as Presbyterian College and Wofford College.