The call went out from the Boy Scouts for help with the Surveying Merit Badge. Dempsey Hannah sent a blanket email out to the members of TSPS Chapter 4 and it didn’t take long for a positive response. Mike Russell, Corey Wilson, and Stuart Warnock answered the call and the planning began.
Surveying equipment was gathered, along with some hand tools and simple drafting supplies. A mock tract of land was set-up the Friday evening before and traversed with a compass and chain. At 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, our volunteers sat down to a complimentary breakfast, and discussed the plan for the day. By 9:00 a.m. they were off to the races with 7 Boy Scouts. The morning began with instructions about the project and the equipment that would be used to survey around the mock tract. Each scout got some hands on training with the total station and the prism pole. As you can imagine, it took a bit of time to allow each scout the time to set up the total station, turn angles and shoot a distance, but each scout got a chance to try.
Later in the afternoon, we went to the lodge to calculate the traverse closure. The scouts closed their traverse to about 1/10th in 500’+/-, not bad for a first try. The group also discussed education requirements, careers in surveying, Surveyor Registration, GPS, GIS, and a few stories about interesting projects from the past.
Corey Wilson, R.P.L.S. 5833, President, TSPS Chapter 4