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In September, Mia R. became an Eagle Scout after completing her Eagle Scout Project that sought to improve the conditions of Sky Meadows State Park.

Mia is part of Troop 1865G, a unit from the Buke Lake District. Mia joined Scouting when she was 14, dedicating almost four years of participation before receiving her Eagle. As a Scout, Mia has earned over 40 merit badges, visited Philmont and works as a camp counselor at Camp Rodney. 

“I really like Scouts and I’m really glad I got to be part of it,” Mia said. 

The Sky Meadows State Park provided a program called Youth Conservation Corps that Mia participated in during 9th grade. With this opportunity, she formed connections from the park and reached out to them when she was ready to start her project. Mia had in mind that she wanted it to involve building, which led to the idea of building a trail. 

The idea sparked because the park is well known for its astronomy program, so many visitors will park and walk 170 feet to reach the visitors center. Because these visitors walked along the road, it became a traffic hazard. She hoped the trail would provide a safer and more distinct place for visitors to walk on. 

“They were having a lot of trouble with that and so they wanted to have the trail right now,” Mia said. “There was, in theory, a trail, but it was more just a grass path undistinguishable from the other grass that you were supposed to walk on, but you had no means of knowing to walk on it.” 

With the help of her Troop, Mia dug out a trail, lined it with metal edging, put down landscaping fabric and covered it in gravel. Her project also consisted of installing two signposts and building a bench with her dad. 

Mia spent 37 to 40 hours on her project and with her 37 volunteers, they totaled up to around 300 hours. 

One challenge Mia faced was transportation because the park is 50 minutes away from her home. Despite this, she got her volunteers to meet at her house and carpool to the park together. Mia was also unsure if she would manage to get enough volunteers, but after reaching out to friends, she exceeded her expectations. 

“I was constantly texting people, ‘hey can you be there?’” Mia said. “So, the fact we got 37, it’s kind of a miracle.” 

Finding the funding for the project was another factor Mia had to consider. When she went to the Lowes in Gainesville, Virginia, they gave her the metal edging completely for free. The park also supplied the gravel, showing how large of a group effort it was to finish the project. 

The project allowed Mia to learn how to communicate with adults, as well as continuing her leadership skills that she has learned from being Senior Patrol Leader. Mia joined Scouting to learn skills such as first aid but has recognized this skill as an ability to help others. 

“I feel like maybe I wouldn’t have stopped on the street to help someone before I joined Scouts,” Mia said. “But now I definitely would, because I’ve learned a lot, and I think I’ve become a better person.” 

Jaiden R. completed her Eagle Scout rank in September after creating three little libraries for her synagogue as her Eagle Scout Project to improve literacy and accessibility to books.

As a member Troop 987G, Jaiden has participated in Scouting for three and a half years. She achieved her Eagle this past summer and has also participated as a Senior Patrol Leader for two terms. One of the first female Eagle Scouts in the country was a founding member of her Troop, showing the possibilities for girls in Scouting.

“She joined as soon as it was possible,” Jaiden said. “First wave, first day possible.”

Jaiden put her three libraries in a variety of areas around Vienna for her synagogue, Temple Rodef Shalom. She spent 52 hours on the project, but with the participation of her father as the project advisor and her Troop, it was around 300 cumulative hours. 

Staff from Jaiden’s Troop came in two sessions to cut, paint and build the structure. On her own, she installed the doors, touched up the paint and put the boxes on the post at all the locations.  

“It really livens up the community and I wanted to do that for my synagogue because it’s also a very community-centric place,” Jaiden said. “I thought a lot of people could benefit from that.” 

Jaiden planned to only make one little library but ended up raising more than her initial goal. With only one beneficiary lined up, she got the experience of reaching out to government organizations to find more beneficiaries. Despite this challenge, Jaiden had friends that helped her reach her goals and found a community for her project. 

Jaiden decided to create these libraries because of her love for reading. She hoped to encourage literacy for kids and made sure the locations were accessible for them, placing them near a path by the elementary school. 

“A lot of people can access it, and it can really help enrich people’s lives,” Jaiden said.  

With this project, Jaiden was able to learn and improve skills such as carpentry, reaching out to different organizations and working towards a goal. The libraries also allow her to help others by providing kids with the opportunity to learn new skills.

“Whatever I’m doing today, it won’t be necessary for anyone to do it tomorrow,” Jaiden said. 

Jaiden’s mom, Melissa R., acknowledged Jaiden’s accomplishments that she achieved very quickly. Jaiden joined Scouting after the pandemic and after only one year of Scouting, she rose to leadership positions and became a Senior Patrol Leader. Because of Scouting, Jaiden’s leadership and public speaking skills have grown significantly.