We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Eagle of the Week

A Home For Our Feline Friends

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I have been volunteering with Operation Hood for the past few years. Operation Hood helps feral cats; I was initially drawn to them because of my love for cats. So when looking for ideas for my Eagle Scout Project, I decided to help Operation Hood by making cat houses.
I originally had the idea in March, but due to COVID-19, I couldn’t begin until mid-July. During that time, I decided to reuse some old cat houses my grandfather had in storage rather than start from scratch. We also converted old dog boxes that needed to be cleaned, sanitized, and painted. After about three days of hard work transferring the cat houses to my house and then to Operation Hood, I finally could start the project. The hardest part of the project was working around the weather. Everything was planned out, but unfortunately, it began to rain a lot, like every weekend. We had to work around it. Eventually, we had to bring out canopies so we could start working on putting the fronts on the houses, staining the houses, and building the cat tree. Then we had to postpone painting the wooden ramps until the following weekend due to the rain.

This project was harder than I thought it would be. I had to figure out how to relay the ideas that I had on paper and in my head to my Scout volunteers. The project helped me with my leadership, planning, and communication skills. I also learned to plan for anything, especially the weather. During this project, some of our wood was cut wrong as well, so we had to adjust our plans slightly.

I found my favorite aspect of the project was giving back to an organization that I truly believe in. They are doing such great work and care so much for the cats. It was a wonderful feeling seeing (within 5 minutes of completing the project) cats utilizing what we just built. It made the project worth it.

An Activity For All

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Special needs children face challenges every day. As part of my Eagle Scout Service Project, I wanted to support these children in a crucial area – sensory activity. My mom does part-time substitute teaching and prefers to work with special needs students at Buffalo Trail Elementary School. One day, she mentioned that it would be nice if the students at her school could have more engaging sensory activities. This got me thinking about ways I could provide the students with their needs. Ultimately, I decided that I would design and build two sensory activity tables for my Eagle Project.

First, I researched sensory stimulation, as well as its needs and considerations. Activities help children develop appropriate responses to stimuli and can enhance their learning experience. They can also facilitate better visual, auditory, and tactile processing. In doing so, children can learn how to regulate their behaviors in a comfortable environment. However, some may be more sensitive to their environment and inclined to overstimulation. Using this information, I compiled a list of possible sensory activities that could be used. Next, I thought a table would be the most appropriate means to present and organize these activities for the students. I leveraged the activity table’s general design from a table my dad built for me when I was younger for my own activities (e.g., building train tracks, playing with Legos, playing with cars, etc.).

I then met with a Special Education Program teacher from Buffalo Trail Elementary School to discuss the proposal, gather requirements (e.g., size, height, features), and start planning the project. With the requirements in hand, I proceeded to make one of the tables as a prototype. This helped me fine-tune the process, materials, and design of the tables. I then used this experience to model the way for the second table. For example, originally, the table legs’ dimensions were slightly too small to secure the caster wheels with all four screws. For the sake of stability, I expanded the legs using an additional 2”x 2” board, enabling the caster wheels to be appropriately fastened to the legs. Once the prototype was completed, I planned out how to best execute the construction with other Scouts and participants. This included determining the order of how different pieces would be built, what teams would make what parts, how to maintain quality and safety, who would be on what team, how to motivate the team, and which participants could use what tools.

To account for COVID-19, I pre-screened the participants based on my Troop’s checklist. I also provided masks, hand sanitizers, and face shields on the build date. Social distancing was also employed (when applicable) to guard against transmission.
The most challenging part of the project was planning. There were many aspects to consider, including measurements, materials, supplies, tools, and safety. Other considerations included what activities to use and how to manage and lead Scouts to complete the project. Although it was a bit tedious and demanding, this process helped me improve my critical thinking and planning skills, including determining the budget, procedures, and logistics.

My favorite parts of the project were seeing the development of my ideas take shape. Its completion left me satisfied, especially seeing how beneficial the outcome is. What started as merely an idea became tangible objects that will benefit students over many years.
The most important things I learned from completing my project were communication, leadership, and planning skills. Being able to communicate effectively with the beneficiary, Scout leaders, and the Scouts who assisted me, whether through email or speech, was crucial to the project’s completion. With this came improved leadership skills, as I was able to better formulate courses of action and efficiently construct the tables.

Eagle Project – Owl’s Well that Ends Well

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By: Troop Instructor Ian P. of Troop 997 and Senior Patrol Leader Cas K. of Troop 998G

Scouts from Ashburn’s Boy Troop 997 and Leesburg’s Girl Troop 998 joined together on a conservation mission for screech owls, organized by a Troop 997 Life Scout. The Scouts have spent the last week honing their woodworking skills building screech owl nesting boxes. The Eastern screech owl is not an endangered species, but its habitat is in decline, particularly in Virginia and the Northeast. Screech owls often resort to nesting in old woodpecker holes, but nesting boxes placed high in woodland trees keep the owls and owlets safe from predators like snakes, racoons and larger owls and other raptors.

Troop 997 has a tradition of addressing wildlife conservation issues, with several of its recent Eagle projects centering on building duck nesting tubes, bat boxes, duck feeders and bluebird boxes. Ian P. decided to focus on owls by building screech owl nesting boxes. He teamed up with Camp Highroad in Middleburg, a stellar United Methodist Church camp that has campsites frequently used by area Troops and Packs, as well as for leader training. Ian recruited Scouts from Troops 997 and 998G to build the nesting boxes, identified locations with the Highroads team, and will soon lead a team to mount them in likely nesting areas around the Camp. He built an extra nesting box and created a screech owl guide for the Camp’s nature education program. The guide includes information about the owls, the project, the installation locations around camp and instructions on annual maintenance.

Ian invited his sister Riley, a Star Scout and one of the founding members of Leesburg’s Scouts BSA Girl Troop 998, and her fellow Scouts to participate as well. They learned about the wildlife conservation and educational mission of the project, then received hands-on training with woodworking tools and methods. With over 80% of the Troop participating, the girls have taken what they’ve learned and accomplished, and completed the application material for the prestigious Hornaday Unit Award.

Virginia Teen Joins Inaugural Class of Female Eagle Scouts

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Local Virginia Scout Emma Bazemore, 17, completed her Eagle Scout Service Project earlier this month, putting her on track to join the Inaugural Class of Female Eagle Scouts, and become one of the first female Eagle Scouts in the National Capital Area. The eldest of five, Emma watched as her younger brother advanced in Scouting and became an Eagle Scout. When the Boy Scouts of America opened the Scouts BSA program to female members eighteen months ago, she signed up immediately and began her BSA journey.

“Recognizing limited time for me to accomplish my goals, I worked fast to get organized. I was excited to learn more about leadership and to advance in ranks like my brother did,” said Bazemore. Joining Troop 1533G in 2019 not only built Bazemore’s skills in leadership, but also her confidence. “The fact that you interview with adult members of the troop when advancing ranks or earning merit badges really helps to build some confidence as you share what you’ve learned. While each step can feel a little intimidating, you keep going, and it gets easier the more you practice.”

Bazemore credits such experiences in Scouts BSA with developing her confidence as a leader, saying,  “The experience I’ve gained from leading a troop of 15 girls gave me the confidence to run for election and become the president of the WT Woodson High School’s choir program for a group of 200 students.”

When asked if she would recommend the Scouts BSA program to other girls, Bazemore responded, “I would say if you like hanging out with other girls, doing hands-on activities, and learning new skills, then Scouting is for you. Girls in our troop go camping, earn merit badges, build new skills, and gain new experiences. Some favorites for me have been emergency first aid and kayaking. If you have the opportunity to join Scouting, I think it’s great. It teaches you about leadership, skills like wilderness survival, and independence.”

To earn her Eagle Scout Award, Bazemore must hold leadership positions in her troop, earn 21 merit badges focusing on important life skills such as first aid, camping, and personal finance, and lead a service project in her community. For her Eagle project, Bazemore organized volunteers from her troop to make snuffle mats and blankets for a local animal shelter, the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria. The shelter staff requested the snuffle mats because they stimulate dogs’ brains and encourage slower eating habits. She raised money to purchase the supplies and also collected material donations, like dog and cat food, from her troop. As a result of the pandemic, she had to accomplish all of this digitally to maintain social distancing. “Thankfully, it was fairly easy to transition the demonstration of how to make the blankets and snuffle mats online. Although I am not set on a specific career path yet, I am very interested in veterinary medicine, so I wanted to do a project I was both interested in and could tie into my love for animals.”

Less than 5% of Scouts BSA members will achieve the prestigious Eagle Scout Award. Next month she hopes to complete her application and join this select group. This level of achievement is not new to Bazemore, however, as she is also a recipient of the Girl Scouts highest award for Seniors and Ambassadors, the Gold Award, making her one of the first to achieve both titles.

Bazemore will be one of the first female Scouts BSA members to have her Board of Review – a final review and approval of her Eagle Scout application – in October. The Inaugural Class of Female Eagle Scouts will be officially announced in February of 2021.

Sibling Eagle Scouts from Troop 1131 Earn All 137 BSA Merit Badges

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Pablo and Gabriel Sejas-Fernandez, brothers and Eagle Scouts in Troop 1131, have earned all 137 merit badge currently offered by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), an accomplishment achieved by only about 450 scouts in the 110-year history of the Boy Scouts. Troop 1131 is sponsored by St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church, in Burke, Virginia, and is part of the Patriot District of the National Capital Area Council, BSA. The boys’ inspiration to earn all the merit badges came early in their Scouting career when Pablo and Gabriel learned about an older Scout who had accomplished the feat. So, after several years of hard work, Pablo and Gabriel accomplished their goal. A small ceremony to celebrate their achievement was held on October 18, 2020, when they received the last merit badge they needed, Backpacking.

Pablo Sejas-Fernandez is a Senior at Lake Braddock H.S. in Fairfax County, Virginia. He joined Scouting in September 2014 and became an Eagle Scout on April 2, 2019. His Eagle Scout project was restoring the Indian Spring Community sign, removing the massive overgrowth, and landscaping the public area around the entry sign. Pablo’s leadership positions have included Senior Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Bugler, Den Chief, and Troop Order of the Arrow Representative. His accomplishment includes earning the Ad Altare Dei Award in 2016, the Servus Dei Award in 2018, Service to Youth Outstanding Leadership in 2019, and the Pope Pius XII Award in 2020. He has over 150 days camping, earning the Alben Struble Award for Perfect Camping in 2016 and 2017, as a member of his earlier Troop 61 in the National Capital Area Council. He also has over 140 miles backpacking and hiking experience to his credit. Pablo attended the Kandersteg International Scout Center, in Switzerland in 2016, the National Order of the Arrow Conference in 2018, and the 2019 World Scout Jamboree at the Summit in West Virginia.

Gabriel Sejas-Fernandez is a Sophomore at Lake Braddock H.S. Gabriel earned the Arrow of Light as a Cub Scout and bridged over to Boy Scouts in September 2016. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout on October 18, 2020, at the same time he earned the last merit badge he needed, Backpacking. His Eagle Scout project was a landscaping project similar to Pablo’s. He cleaned up and removed abundant weeds and overgrowth. The planted 80 individual native Virginia species alongside the newly paved sidewalk at Hidden Oaks Nature Center, in Annandale, Virginia. Gabriel’s leadership positions have included Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Troop Guide, and Bugler. Gabriel earned the Servus Dei Award in 2018, Service to Youth Award in 2019, and the Ad Altare Dei Award in 2020. He also has over 150 days camping, earning the Alben Struble Award for Perfect Camping in 2017 as a member of his earlier Troop 61. He also has over 140 miles backpacking and hiking. Gabriel attended the National Order of the Arrow Conference in 2018, and the 2019 World Scout Jamboree Jamboree at the Summit in West Virginia.

A Library for Grief

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Since William P. of Troop 10 in Warrenton, VA, was a child he had been inspired to become a Boy Scout by his grandfather, who was a Boy Scout himself. As Boy Scout, William wanted to serve his community to the best of his ability and impress his grandfather. Unlike his grandfather, who could not complete his Eagle Scout Project, William was determined to make sure he completed his and make his grandfather proud.
William began to look around his community to see where he could help. A member of his church, who knew William was a Scout, reached out to him. She asked if he would be interested in helping create a Little Free Library dedicated to helping people dealing with grief. William agreed to help; his Eagle Scout mentor suggested he should build a bench as well. With the approval of his Scoutmaster and some help from his church, William got all the necessary supplies and went to work.
Like many of his peers this year, William’s plans were put on hold due to COVID-19. Being a resourceful Scout, William adjusted his plans and continued to work on the free library. After completing the library and the bench, William felt proud of completing his Eagle Scout project, saying, “My favorite aspect of this project was being able to teach the younger Scouts how to use tools for different purposes.”