A Sea Scout who sails out of the San Leandro Marina recently completed a project to benefit the Rowell Ranch Rodeo.  Indy Nelson organized the construction of three retaining walls, totaling 188 feet in length, at the Rowell Ranch to stop soil erosion on a hillside, a project toward his becoming an Eagle Scout.  “It sounds simple but it was a chore,” said Nelson, a ninth grader in Hayward who goes to home school.

Nelson found the railroad ties from the Niles Canyon Railroad and Hulbet Lumber, who donated the material. The construction of the wall was accomplished with the help of the Sea Scouts from Ship 700 (S.S.S. Bosun), the Order of the Arrow (the Boy Scouts Honor Society), and Troop 876 at All Saints Church in Hayward.  To come up with the idea for the project, Nelson talked to Bill Gardner, a groundskeeper for the Hayward Area Recreation Department.  “I asked him for ideas and he came up with the erosion control project,” Nelson said.