Leaving No Trace
Many Eagle Scout leadership service projects involve building something—a nature trail, park benches, or a memorial garden, for instance. Aaron Edgel’s project took the opposite approach. He and his 25 volunteers removed a collapsed water tower—all 10 tons of it—from the Sanctuary Woods Preserve near Holland, Michigan. Built in 1913, the tower collapsed in the 1960s and had lain in ruins ever since. Graffiti artists had decorated it, vandals had built fires around it, but nobody else had touched it—until Aaron came along.
Removing the tower, which took more than 400 hours, was only the culmination of Aaron’s work. He had to get approval from the local parks and fire departments and recruit businesses that could help cut the tower into Scout-sized pieces.
“I’ve learned that there is no simple way to do something like this,” Aaron told The Holland Sentinel. “I learned about leadership, and I’ve learned about getting permission.” He also learned that you can leave a legacy by leaving no trace.
Building for the Future in Afghanistan
The Eagle Scout trail has no end, and it leads to some surprising places. For Eagle Scout Dustin Koslowsky, a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, that trail led to Afghanistan’s Panjshir province. There, as part of a U.S.-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), the Fort Worth, Texas, Eagle Scout has spent much of 2008 and 2009 building a school for girls.
A PRT engineer, Koslowsky oversaw the work of a local contractor and construction workers in building the eight-classroom Haish Saidqi Girls’ School. More than 500 girls, along with a handful of boys, will attend the school, which was dedicated on June 23, 2009.
The school represents a small step in the revival of the Afghan school system. Under the Taliban regime, girls were not allowed to attend school at all. Even today, only 30 percent of girls reach the fifth grade, compared to 56 percent of boys.
The Heart of an Eagle Scout
It might have been appropriate if Mitchell Overby had only reached the rank of Life Scout. After all, the Life badge would have served as a fitting reminder of the February 2008 heart transplant that saved the Calvert City, Kentucky, resident’s life.
Mitchell persevered, however, reaching Scouting’s highest rank in March 2009. For his Eagle Scout leadership service project, he collected supplies and prepared meals for the Ronald McDonald House in Nashville, Tennessee—the same facility where he and his family lived for six weeks after his transplant.
Now 18, Mitchell shows no signs of cutting back on his Scouting involvement. This summer, he worked at Camp Roy C. Manchester and served on the staff of his council’s National Youth Leadership Training course. He recently signed up as an assistant Scoutmaster in his home troop, Troop 422.
The Lone Eagle Scout
Lone Scouting began in 1915 as a way for boys from remote areas to participate in Scouting. Although it seems like a throwback to earlier times, the program is still available. Recently, one Lone Scout—John V. Ricciardi of Spring Hill, Florida—became an Eagle Scout.
John has faced numerous health issues that prevented his full participation in Scouting, but they haven’t kept him from reaching Scouting’s highest rank. With that accomplishment behind him, John is already giving back to Scouting by helping a fellow Scout who has cerebral palsy earn his own Eagle Scout badge.
Leading the Way
in Water Conservation
| In xeriscaping (pronounced zir-ə-skāp), water conservation drives what is planted. Minimizing grassy areas and maximizing the use of indigenous and drought-resistant plants are measures that help conserve water. |
Despite its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, California’s San
Diego County faces frequent droughts. To help fight this problem, a
group of Eagle Scout candidates is re-landscaping Imperial Beach City
Hall using water-saving xeriscaping techniques. Two Eagle projects have
been completed at the site, with three more in the works.
“Leading by example and showing how easy and beautiful it is to create
a water-sensitive landscape will hopefully inspire others to do the
same,” said Troop 53’s Austin Allen, one of the first Scouts to
complete his Eagle Scout service project at the site.
One Good Turn
Deserves Another
One day in August 2008, 48-year-old Eagle Scout Hap Stokes and his son,
Charlie, 16, traveled to Colorado, where they climbed 14,259-foot Longs
Peak. As they hiked down from the summit that afternoon, a vicious
thunderstorm hit, threatening everyone on the mountain. Along the
trail, the Stokeses encountered 21 stranded hikers. They stopped to
treat several for hypothermia and then helped everyone leave the
mountain safely.
When Eagle Scout Paul Corbin, an adult leader with Charlie’s Troop 268
in Lakeville, Minn., heard the story, he nominated the Stokeses for the
BSA’s Medal of Merit, which was awarded last month.
To describe one Minnesota teenager as "one in a million" is an understatement – by half. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) today announced that Anthony Thomas, 16, of Lakeville, Minn., has been named the 2 millionth Eagle Scout since the first Eagle badge was awarded in 1912.