We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Eagle Scout

DES Pride

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For Jack R. of Troop 1094, Darnestown Elementary school brings up many fond memories for him as he attended it from kindergarten to fifth grade. Now being a bit older, Jack wanted to help out his former elementary school. He decided for his Eagle Scout Project that he could provide the school with a more beautiful front.

Unfortunately, after getting his project approved, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Yet being a good Scout, Jack adjusted his plans to fit safety guidelines, and he began his work in July. Jack and his volunteers started by getting rid of any stumps, weeds, and dead plants near the mulch beds in front of the school. He then trimmed the bushes and trees before planting some more bushes and grass. Jack then created a “DES” sign (Darnestown Elementary school), which was then placed at the front.

After completing this project, Jack felt satisfied with the results. He was also incredibly proud of how hard the work he and the volunteers put into helping Darnestown Elementary School.

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.

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.”

Eagle of the Week – Elliott Frank!

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Window glass is a major factor of death for migratory birds. Between 100,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 birds die annually from collisions with windows.

I’m Elliott Frank, from Troop 152 in Vienna, Virginia, and for my Eagle project, I wrote, directed, and produced a video public service announcement for the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia, linked here: https://youtu.be/0hPFdRHvEMM.

This video provides an overview on bird collisions with glass, and covers several alternative techniques to bird-safe glass local homeowners can implement on their own windows to help minimize this problem.

I’m an aspiring videographer and video editor, hoping to study film and video in college. The majority of the Eagle projects that I help my troop mates with consist of intensive outdoor manual labor building structures for local organizations. This may seem to you like an unconventional Eagle project, and you’re right. I wanted to combine my passion for filmmaking with my love for birds to create a long-lasting impact on Northern Virginia’s bird population. I’d like to thank the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia for allowing me to make this video on their behalf, and for providing access to my video on their website: audubonva.org