By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — A 16-year-old township boy has helped to make the township’s new butterfly park exactly what it’s supposed to be.
Benjamin Yunger, a student at East Brunswick High School, and about 20 members of his Boy Scout troop, as well as some of their parents, spent a weekend earlier this month turning the fledgling 10-acre park near Rues and Ryders lanes into a haven for nature lovers.
During the last few weeks, a 1,500-foot-long, 8-foot-wide trail was created to link Great Oak Park to the municipally owned butterfly park, according to David Moskowitz, a member of the township’s Environmental Commission and the person credited with coming up with the idea for the park. Benjamin picked up where that trail left off, using mulch to extend the trail around the rest of the park, he said.
"A quarry stone trail connected Great Oak Park to the Butterfly Park already," said Benjamin, whose project was part of his effort to attain the rank of Eagle Scout. "From that, we used mulch to make a further trail all around the park."
The trail Benjamin and his fellow Scouts created is about 380 feet long and 5 feet wide, he said, with a thickness of about 2 inches.
It makes it easier for people to navigate the park, he said, as well as take in the natural sights and watch for butterflies and birds.
In addition to the trail, Benjamin also installed three wooden benches he designed with his troopmaster, Gene Sempkowski. Benjamin said they were put into concrete blocks to keep them from moving. He said the benches are in shaded areas to make it more comfortable for people to use them for bird or butterfly watching.
In addition, Benjamin also planted 36 bushes, which Moskowitz said will attract butterflies.
Benjamin, who is actually the senior patrol leader of Troop 220, credited his fellow Scouts with helping him, and saved special praise for his Scoutmaster.
"He was the one who probably helped most," he said. "He really dedicated the most time of anybody for this project."
He also credited Moskowitz, who has two sons in the same troop, with helping him come up with the idea to work on the butterfly park.
Moskowitz said the park is a "work in progress," but it is already functioning.
"I saw six different kinds of butterflies in 10 minutes there," he said of one of his recent visits.
He said he is hoping to get more volunteers to help with the park, which the township officially opened in April.
"We hope this is the beginning of a lot of volunteers coming to the park and helping," he said. "We want it to be basically a volunteer effort."
Benjamin, whose project was planned with the permission of the Township Council and through discussions with the Environmental Commission, said the wood, mulch and bushes were donated by local businesses.

