In The Pipeline:

About a year ago, I wrote a story about a local Boy Scout: “Kudos this week to another Boy Scout who made a positive difference in the community. Bruce Stephens, a sophomore at Huntington Beach High School, completed Part II of his butterfly restoration project for Gibbs Park in Huntington Beach on Nov. 15.

Working with the Huntington Beach Tree Society, the city of Huntington Beach Public Works and about 75 volunteers from Boy Scout Troop 1, they planted 41 trees. ... I spoke with Bruce and he said his dream is to one day bring his own kids there and show them the fruits of his (and his helpers’) labors” (In The Pipeline, “Where is outrage over DUI fatalities?,” Nov. 27).

Then, this piece ran in the paper: “Fifteen eucalyptus trees were vandalized last week at Gibbs Park in Huntington Beach, just days after the City Council voted to offer a $500 reward to residents who help police catch tree vandals. The trees were destroyed some time between Oct. 6 and 7, city spokeswoman Laurie Payne said. The estimated value, she said, was $7,500, or $500 per tree.

“The city takes this very seriously,” Payne said in a statement. “These trees represent more than just money. They have been planted by volunteers who took the time to make the park more beautiful. These vandals are destroying more than trees, they are destroying Boy and Girl Scout projects and donations from the HB Tree Society” (“Fifteen trees found vandalized at Gibbs Park,” Oct. 15).

Now, “mindless vandalism” may be an oxymoron, but what we’re witnessing here takes “mindless” to an entirely new level. Visiting the park the other morning, it was hard to fathom what would inspire this brand of vandalism. The trees I saw were not chopped down, but rather chopped off at their tops, thus preventing further growth. And the same thing has happened over at Central Park. Serial tree hacking?

“I bet it’s connected,” a man walking his dog in the park told me. “A lot of us are thinking it’s these 12-year-olds who are doing it with golf clubs. Maybe we need some low-light video cameras out here to catch them in the act.”

The authorities involved also seem to think the destruction is youth-related. If that’s the case and the reward works and the vandals are caught, here’s hoping the vandals’ parents are put to work buying trees, planting the trees and maintaining the trees along with their kids. When you walk up yourself and look at the effort it took to mar these trees, you realize that these acts are beyond senseless, and the sooner we find out who is behind them, the better.

Another update: In March, I wrote about 88-year-old Bob Pinning, a bird-watching gentleman I met one morning on my daily walk at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands (In The Pipeline, “Learn to relax,” March 19). You might recall Pinning’s simple rules of living a long, productive life: “Stress is the killer,” he said . “Never worry about anything you can do something about — just do it! If you can’t do anything about it — why worry? I’m a Christian, so it’s easy for me to turn my problems over to God, and I find that over time, the answers you need will eventually come to you.”

I hadn’t seen Pinning for a few months and I had grown a bit concerned about him. The morning I wrote this column, I took my walk, and there he was, camera and binoculars in hand to follow the birds he loves so much.

“Green heron,” he chuckled to himself as he lined his shot up. “She’s a rare one.” Where has he been? “Lake Arrowhead!” he beamed. “Met a nice lady, Linda, spend every other week up there with her and we take wonderful hikes in those mountains up there. Altitude was a bit much at first, but I can go about eight miles now or so.”

Pinning will be 89 in December.

“Still getting my golf in too,” he adds, “Along with videotaping the sermons at my church.”

Pinning does this for parishioners who are physically unable to make it to church in person. His grin is just as wide and his eyes still twinkle mischievously like back in March — and his advice is still the same.

“Enjoy life. Every minute of it.”

If we ever find out who is destroying the trees, I might suggest they spend some time with Pinning. I think they’d learn a thing or two (and if they’re minors, then that goes for their parents, too).

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 14 books, including the new “Huntington Beach Then & Now.” You can write him at [email protected] .