Since Ken Scott was a young Cub Scout, he has always loved being outdoors.

Camping, hiking – he couldn’t get enough.

“I just love camping,” said Scott, 16, now a junior at Central High School in Manchester.

That’s why, when it came time to choose a Hooksett-based community service project to achieve his Eagle Scout distinction, Scott didn’t have much trouble deciding where to go.

He answered a call for help from the Hooksett Kiwanis Club to provide much-needed signs along the town’s one-mile nature trail, accessed by the gravel pathway across from Green’s Marina on Route 3 and extending along Brown’s Brook out to Head’s Pond.

“They mentioned how they wanted someone to help put up some signs,” Scott said. “I’ve expanded that to include the kiosk and some benches.”

His project scope includes installing four hand-made wooden benches along the trail, labeling various trees with identification markers and building a kiosk at the trailhead, which will be used to post pertinent recreational information.

The cost of the project is about $1,700 – no small feat for a full-time high school student. But Scott is hopeful that, with a matching donation the Kiwanis Club pledged, he will be able to raise enough money to build and install the kiosk, benches and signs by next spring.

Frank Kotowski, head of the Kiwanis Trails Initiative, said he is thrilled Scott is taking the project into his own hands.

“We think it’s wonderful. We try to do whatever we can to encourage young people to better themselves through civic-minded efforts,” Kotowski said. “We’re elated to work with people that think like we do, and we’re eager to help him if we can.”

Jeff Scott, Ken’s father and troop Scoutmaster, is encouraged by his son’s progress.

“Overall, the Scouting program builds character,” Jeff Scott said. “It encourages them to get outside and exercise and have fun. It builds good citizens.” It also looks great on college applications, he said with a smile.

“We’re very glad he’s decided to get this project done before he starts applying,” he said. If you want to make a donation to the project, Ken Scott can be contacted by e-mail at zoogenny@comcast.net.