By Cheryl Conway 

Warmer weather will be here before you know it, and for those who like to venture out and hit the trails in Mt. Olive, new entrance signs are in place for easier navigation.

Thanks to 15-year-old Lillyana DiPietro, a Girl Scout with BSA Troop 1150 (now called Scouting America), hikers can plan more accurate routes and navigate their destination. DiPetro planned, supervised and built 11 new entrance signs for the Mt. Olive Open Space trails as part of her Eagle Scout project. 

“This project is to help hikers plan routes more accurately, navigate to their destination easier and have a smoother hike,” explains DiPetro, a freshman at Mt. Olive High School. “It provides safety in knowing where they are, how far they have traveled and the name of their destination.”

A member of BSA Troop 1150 for almost five years under Scoutmaster Katherine Smith— after being a Cub Scout in Pack 156 of Flanders—DiPetro wanted to complete an Eagle Scout project that mattered to her. 

“The Eagle project is a capstone of Scouts BSA,” she explains. “It calls upon the scout to use all of the knowledge and skills gained throughout the program to act as a leader and carry out a project to benefit the community from conception to completion. It is a huge milestone on the way to achieving the highest rank of Eagle. It is one of the most time consuming and generally one of the last steps taken on the journey to Eagle.”

Social media is always a great source for ideas. 

“I saw a post on Facebook that the Mount Olive Open Space was looking for someone to redesign the signs,” explains DiPetro. “I love hiking, and thought it would be nice to have easy navigation through the trails in our town. Dad did something similar for his Eagle project decades ago and I enjoyed when he took us to look at it. From then I knew I wanted to create something that I could share with my future family and thought this would be the perfect fit!”

She started researching and planning this project late April 2024, and completed the bulk of the project by the end of summer 2024.  

“My project was designing, building and installing 11 signs around the Mt. Olive trail system,” she describes. “The signs were created for areas on the trails that either didn’t have one or the sign was too beaten up to read.  I added mile markers to known distances to help when planning hikes.”

DiPetro worked closely with Mount Olive Space to label 11 of the trail heads throughout town. There were also 19 scouts and volunteers ranging from age 12 to adult that helped out with the project, she adds.

“There were various phases to the project from concept to design, to crafting and installing,” she explains. “In all, my Eagle Project took a combined 117 total volunteer hours from start to finish.”     

DiPetro is appreciative to everyone who helped her along her path. 

“Adults and kids from my troop, friends, family, and anyone who was willing to donate their money, time and efforts into helping me complete this project were a huge help,” she says.  “This project was made possible by generous donations from friends and family and a supply donation from Home Depot of Hackettstown.”

Looking at her signs, DiPetro is pleased with the completed project. 

“I’m very proud of how this project turned out; it gave me a unique life experience many kids don’t get to have,” she shares. “I learned about budgeting, time and talent management, goal setting and fundraising.  It challenged my problem-solving skills and taught me how to adapt quickly to unforeseen circumstances. I know that this is bringing me one step closer to Eagle rank. I’m so grateful for everybody who helped out.

“Feel free to check out the signs, take a little hike and enjoy the scenery,” she concludes.

DiPetro’s signs are located along the white, orange and blue trails throughout Mt. Olive.

“Lillyana is to be commended for planning, supervising and building 11 entrance signs for our Mount Olive Open Space trails,” says David Ethan Alexander of the Mount Olive Open Space Committee. “Her leadership and volunteerism set a fine example and her pursuit of becoming an Eagle Scout is greatly admired. We look forward to her achieving the rank of Eagle Scout in the near future.”

Check out our Map at https://natureintoaction.com/2021/03/10/mount-olive-trails-interactive-map/

To inquire about scout and conservation stewardship themed service projects within Mount Olive Open Space, contact DavidEthanAlexander@gmail.com.8