Thanks to Life Scout Jacob Donovan, barbecuing in Stony Lake Township Park is going to be a little safer this summer.

On Saturday morning, Donovan, a junior at Oxford High School, and some of his fellow scouts from Troop 366 built fire safety barriers beneath the two charcoal grills located at the Harold D. Albertson and Jeanne L. Martin pavilions.

He did it as his Eagle Scout community service project.

“I came here one day with my friends and I noticed there was a bunch of charcoal on the ground. It didn’t look good or safe,” Donovan said.

He feared hot coals or ashes could easily land on the grass and start a fire. So, he decided to take action.

“I wanted to spruce things up and make it safe for the park and the people that come here,” Donovan explained.

Beneath each grill, he and his fellow scouts laid down a weed barrier, covered it with sand from the park’s beach, topped it with 12-inch-by-12-inch red patio stones, then framed the area with wood.

Ron Davis, director of the Oxford Township Parks and Recreation Department, is grateful to Donovan.

“It was a very unique project that he did,” Davis said. “It’s always nice to see someone give back . . . We greatly appreciate his thoughtfulness, his willingness to make our community better and (his) hard work.”

Donovan has been involved in scouting since the second grade. He’s stuck with it all these years because “it’s fun.”

“I like to hang out with my friends. I like to camp. And I like giving back to the community,” he explained.

Scouting has taught Donovan “how to be a good citizen and a good person.” It’s provided him with a solid moral compass and the ability to make smart decisions. Scouting also helped him develop valuable people skills.

Donovan encourages young men to consider scouting because it can open doors. “It provides a lot of opportunities in the future,” he said. “I got my job at Urban Air (trampoline park) and other benefits in life just by saying, ‘I’m a Life Scout.’”