The goal of becoming an Eagle Scout and the desire to work outdoors is what brought Wauwatosa resident Rudy Berg and several volunteers to the town of West Bend early last month.
Berg, a student at Marquette University High School  (MUHS), lead a project that involved planting trees on land owned by the Cedar Lakes Conservation Foundation as part of the foundation’s annual Adopt-A-Tree event.
The foundation is a public non-profit organization devoted to preserving wetlands and woodlands in the tri-lakes region of Washington County.
“I was looking for a project and I was looking for something to do outside and to help with nature,” Berg said while working on the project.
Berg is a member of Boys Scout Troop 125 out of St. Jude’s in Wauwatosa and was looking for a project from which he could achieve the Eagle Scout rank. He said he was advised of the idea from the Boy Scout officials, and subsequently contacted the foundation for more information.
“They told me what it entails and I started doing it,” Berg said.
He then talked with the service director at MUHS and recruited volunteers from the school to help with the project. Prior to the planting, Berg surveyed the property, studied trees and materials and coordinated volunteers for the planting.
There were approximately 55 volunteers planting trees. Volunteers came from the MUHS, troop 125 and the Cedar Lakes Conservation Foundation. The work involved digging a hole two inches deep, planting the tree and then placing a tube over the tree to planting.
Berg explained that the trees help with the nearby watershed by improving water quality and creating natural wildlife habitats.
“It doesn’t just help  West Bend or Big Cedar Lake, it’s helping Little Cedar Lake and all the lakes the river feeds into  committed in late February,” he said.
Holly Bauer, a spokesperson for the Cedar Lakes Conservation Foundation, noted that while the foundation has had tree planting events in the past, Berg organized the volunteers for this year’s activity, which was a change from past year’s when the foundation organized volunteers. She also noted that all trees were hand-planted this year.
—By Thomas J. McKillen, Managing Editor