Eagle of the Week

Thomas T. of Troop 904 has always admired the work of Earth Sangha, a nonprofit dedicated to ecological restoration. He’s known of them since elementary school, and always found them to be welcoming and caring about their work. They were so friendly that Thomas decided to begin volunteering there. When he heard they needed to refurbish and raise their garden beds, Thomas decided to come to their rescue for his Eagle Scout Project.

He began by speaking to Mr. Bright, who works for Earth Sangha, about helping them. Under Bright’s guidance, Thomas began to develop a plan. Unfortunately, Thomas’ original plan was put to a halt due to COVID-19. But that didn’t stop Thomas from adjusting his project to fit the guidelines once restrictions were eased. Then, with some volunteers, Thomas began to remove and transport cinder blocks, remove old wood, trim back the soil, and cut and assemble new wood for the garden beds. While this may sound easy, the whole process was quite labor intensive and even more difficult to complete under the summer heat in a pandemic.

The work was all worth it in the end for Thomas to see how satisfied Mr. Bright and his colleagues were with the work. Thomas is glad to have been able to learn the importance of preparation, communication, and adaptation in this project. Thomas is especially grateful for the help of his volunteers, saying, “It was a pleasure having friends and family alike who were willing to come to my aid during these unprecedented times. It showed me that I had people who I could count on, and when it came their time to do Eagle Projects, I gladly helped in return.”

I never really liked working with wood or doing larger construction projects. I had plenty of opportunities to learn such as when I went to summer camp, but I just never took advantage of those opportunities to learn those skills. So when I began to think about an Eagle Scout Project, I knew I wanted to try something new while giving back to my community. So I went to Battle Creek Nature Center to see if they had any projects that I could complete for them. That’s when the opportunity to make a platform at the overlook caught my attention. It was the perfect way to help Battle Creek Nature Center while working on my construction skills.

I had to create a timeline that was easy to follow while my volunteers and I assembled the platform. So I created a very easy to follow timeline, which made the process seem like we had accomplished a lot every day and had a visible difference from when we first started. I assembled my volunteer team by contacting Scouts and adults who had some type of experience building a large structure and were up to the challenge. Then I had to split up the tasks. For more difficult tasks, the adults helped while the Scouts completed the simpler and more tedious tasks.

I found the most difficult aspect of this project was setting the frame for the platform. We probably spent 10 hours total on digging holes, measuring, and placing the posts to set the frame right. It was very complicated because we were working on a slope in a confined space due to large trees, so we had to get it just right for the overlook to be set how the beneficiary wanted it. In the end, though, we got the frame set, and it went smoothly after this point.
My favorite aspect of this project was its location. The location was on a nearby cliff that overlooks Battle Creek with a fantastic view. We were fortunate with the weather. With the combination of the pleasant weather and the view from the overlook, it was always the right place to be and relax when work was done or during breaks. I hope that this overlook gets a lot of use out of its years and provides day hikers with an amazing view of the creek.

After completing this project, I learned that planning is essential when it comes to tackling massive projects. Something will always go wrong, but with proper planning and anticipation, these obstacles can be dealt with quickly so work can continue. Planning also helped me know exactly what needed to be done, so I did not waste time figuring out how to do a task on site. This project taught me that leadership is essential for your workers and yourself. It helps to keep your workers organized and on task while also keeping yourself organized.

To begin, I wanted to do something to help underprivileged people during these difficult times. Ultimately, this desire led me to provide emergency food assistance, build new garden planters, and upgrade HOPE for NOVA’s (a non-profit that serves underprivileged people) “Hope House” in Manassas.

First, I began by communicating with the charity (Hope for NOVA, a nonprofit dedicated to providing services for underprivileged people), and once we had decided on an idea, I started planning how we would proceed. I chose to use an online registration program to recruit people. It was a sound system because it allowed me to easily track how many people were coming and divvy up jobs. While working on this project, I found the most challenging aspect was ensuring we maintained social distancing. Because the project took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to ensure the Scouts were safe. My solution to this project was to have families show up instead of individual Scouts since it would limit the risk of spreading Coronavirus. I ended up having entire family units doing different parts of the project. One family would pull weeds, another family would build the planters, another would take out trees, and another would haul away any waste.

After completing this work, it was very satisfying to look back and see what I had completed. During this project, I learned it’s always better to over-plan than under-plan. I had underestimated the number of Scouts that I’d need to complete the project, and I had to deal with the consequences of that decision. I should have ensured that we had more than enough Scouts rather than just enough. But I was also able to work on my leadership skills. I learned the importance of making sure you know what everyone is doing at any time. I had some trouble ensuring everyone was doing what I thought needed to be done, but once I figured out how to be more attentive, all went well.

Shane R. of Troop 160 in Hendron, VA, plays football for Oakton High School’s football team in Vienna, VA. He is also a fan of his high school’s baseball team and respects their sportsmanship. So when he learned that the baseball team’s helmet and baseball rack were worn out, Shane decided to contact the coach to see if he could fix their equipment as part of his Eagle Scout Project.

Once the coach approved, Shane got to planning. He found some design inspiration for the racks with the help of the coach. When Shane decided upon a design, he had to figure out what type of material to use and how much it would all cost. He went to a few stores and some family friends and neighbors to see if they could donate some money and some wood for the project. As soon as he collected all the wood he would need, Shane got to priming the wood, and he began to recruit volunteers from his Troop, his family, and his friends to help him later. On the day of the project, Shane transported the primed wood to the school, where he and his volunteers would assemble the racks. In addition to building the racks, they also repainted the dugout’s walls.

Shane is glad to have finished the project and see how well the racks came out. Now looking back, he reflected on what he had learned, saying, “I learned how to be a better leader. I also learned it was easier to have step-by-step instructions with drawings printed out so helpers could follow easily. I also discovered that if you put the right people in certain tasks, it goes smoothly and gets completed the way I wanted it to.”

When I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my Eagle project, I thought about possible career and future paths that I am interested in. Veterinary Medicine has been a significant interest of mine since I was young, and this interest inspired me to do a project that could help animals. So I decided to look into different shelters in my area and what they needed from me. That’s how I found the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA). I decided that I would help make blankets and snuffle mats (a type of ripped blanket that dogs like to play with), and collect any items they may need.

I decided to split my project into two sections: making blankets/snuffle mats and collecting other material donations. I began by recruiting Scouts from my Troop by emailing them to see if they were interested. Then I had them help make blankets and snuffle mats, and asked Troop families for donations such as cat and dog food, unused toys, litter, among other things. When COVID-19 became a reality, I had to put my plans to a halt temporarily. So I ha to adjust my plan to work online, and I brought supplies to each volunteer’s house before a Zoom session and picked up completed mats and blankets afterward. In each Zoom session, I used the EDGE (explain, demonstrate, guide, enable) method to demonstrate and teach volunteers how to make the mats and blankets. During this time, it was quite challenging to get supplies from stores and then get them to each individual’s home. Luckily, I had my driver’s license for my project. Still, the time it took to get enough supplies before each session, cut them into the correct sizes for each volunteer, and then drive to each person’s house to deliver and pick up was a tricky part of the project. My favorite aspect was seeing the Scouts over Zoom learning how to make the mats or blankets. A few of the girls in my Troop came to two sessions to learn how to make both mats and blankets, and some even asked for more materials after the first session so they could independently apply what they learned again! It was exciting for me to see their enthusiasm both for helping the animals through my project and continuing their skills outside of the learning sessions.

By completing this project, I learned the difficulty of organizing groups, primarily digitally, to work towards a common goal. I didn’t expect how hard it would be to get schedules coordinated, but by the third session, I realized how much easier it was for me to plan compared to the first. I grew as a leader; I learned more about using the EDGE method and applying it to real situations. I gained more experience in finding the flaws in teaching plans and adapting them over time.