Recent Eagle Projects

Through the years, over 140 young men in Troop 128 have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.  This is no mean feat; only about 4% of Scouts achieve the rank.  While all ranks in Boy Scouting now have service requirements (see Guide to Advancement (2015)), only the rank of Eagle requires that the Scout plan, lead, and execute his very own project to provide a significant benefit the community.  In addition to providing service and fulfilling the part of the Scout Oath, “To help other people at all times,” one of the primary purposes of the Eagle Scout service project is for the candidate to learn, improve, and demonstrate leadership.   Related to this are important lessons in project management and taking responsibility for a significant accomplishment.  Finally, the Eagle Project is an opportunity for all troop members to work together toward a common goal, and lets younger Scouts learn from their older friends.

This page is dedicated to our young men who have achieved Eagle, and their friends and supporters who have helped them.


October 2017, Churchill Road Elementary School, McLean, Virginia

Life Scout AS’s Eagle Project entailed the construction of two raised garden beds at Churchill Road Elementary School. To build them, Scouts first dug out a portion of a dirt hill. this was challenging, as the hill had to be very level so that the bed could be placed on it. Next, they built the frame of the beds and attached them together to make a box, along with stakes which were hammered into the ground. Finally, the scouts filled the beds with dirt, and even used the extra dirt to replenish some other raised beds in another part of the school. The beds will be used to help students learn about Colonial Times, as they will house herbs that were grown back in the Colonial Era.

 

August 2017, Churchill Road Elementary School, McLean, Virginia

Life Scout WH led a three-day Eagle Scout Project the benefitted the students and faculty of a local elementary school. With the help of 30 different volunteers who contributed over 150 service hours, the crew built a 60-sq. ft. bridge over a ditch, planted Sweet Spire in four locations in the ditch, and helped reroute drainage into the ditch. The project improves safety, reduces standing water, and prevents dirty tracks into the school by providing a clean and safe walking route.  The construction involved laying concrete footers in six different locations, building a support frame, securing deck to the frame, and building a railing. WH and his volunteers managed to finish the project just in time for the school’s 60th anniversary school year.

 

August, 2017 – Claude Moore Colonial Farm at Turkey Run, McLean, Virginia

Life Scout AD’s Eagle Project had three main features that improved the park for the livestock and visitors. The first job involved restoring the farm pond by removing years-worth of fallen timber, branches, and other debris. The water soaked logs were quite heavy and often required an elaborate system of ropes, pulleys and Scout knots. As a second part of the project, the Scouts transported the branches from the pond to the fence lines, where they incorporated it into the branch fences that were used during the Colonial Period. While pond-and-fence Scouts did their job, another team of Scouts set out to remove the rotten roof shingles from the goose house, and then entirely re-shingled the roof with new cedar shingles and exposed forged nails typical of a northern Virginia farm in 1771.

July, 2017 – McLean High School, McLean, Virginia

Life Scout FCY led a crew of friends and Scouts who built shelve for the McLean High School Band Program. The Band Director needed the shelves to store musical instruments and other large pieces of band equipment. The intended location of the shelves – a high, narrow loft – posed the biggest challenge in the project. Life Scout FCY overcame this challenge by designing maneuverable components that could be built in an open space below and then hoisted into the loft for final assembly. In the end, the 12 volunteers completed the project in approximately seven hours and made a valuable contribution to a highly successful program.

May, 2017 – Churchill Road Elementary School, McLean, Virginia

Life Scout JKH’s team built and installed five bat houses at Churchill Road Elementary School in McLean, Virginia. Going the extra mile, they added an informational plaque about bats, their important role in the environment, and details about the project. The project now provides adequate and convenient shelter to local brown bats. Scouting promotes the leadership skills using the EDGE (“Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, and Enable”) Method, and JKH employed it to teach his crew how to pain, assemble, and erect the five houses placed on site. All told, the JKH’s team contributed 127 service hours that will provide a benefit for years to come. More specifically, in the long run and with a little luck, a thriving colony of bats will move in and feast on local mosquitoes.

 

October, 2016 – Riverbend Regional Park

Life Scout N.S. completed his Eagle Scout Project in October, 2016.  He worked with park officials at Fairfax County’s Riverbend Regional Park.  He and his volunteers built a Chimney Swift Tower.  It was a multiday project that first required skillful pouring of a concrete foundation, followed by the actual construction of the tower.  Chimney Swifts used to make their nests in chimneys but because of chimney caps, their habitat is declining and their population is decreasing.  This tower will serve as a nesting site to the Chimney Swift birds and will be a permanent part of the Nature Center.
ChimneyProject

September, 2016 – Historic Pleasant Grove Church

Congratulations to Life Scout CB, whose Eagle project at the historic Pleasant Grove Church in McLean made the front page of the Sun Gazette!  As the article explains, CB led 28 Scouts from troop 128 and other volunteers as they worked to “clear away significant overgrowth and rotten firewood around the building, repar the wood siding and window glazing, clean the metal roof and provide a much-needed, two-coat repaint of the entire structure.”

CBsCrew

 

July, 2016 – Great Falls National Park

After coordinating with the Rangers, the Maintenance Department, and the Site Manager of Great Falls Park, Life Scout M. O. led the renovation of Overlook 2. In anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, Park management wanted Overlook 2 to be renovated to maximize its visual impact and to preserve its wood surfaces from decay. To do this, the Project volunteers powerwashed and stained the wooden stairs and the handicapped ramp at the entrance to Overlook 2, and powerwashed and stained the wooden rails and flooring at the Overlook 2 barrier. They also removed invasive plants and rebuilt a picnic table near the entry to Overlook 2.”

 

Overlook 2 barrier compressed

July, 2016 – St. Luke’s Catholic Church

On July 26th and 27th, Life Scout J.B. led an Eagle Project at St. Luke’s Catholic Church in McLean. He and his team worked together in 90+ degree heat to clean, weed, and paint over 1900 linear feet of curb! These newly painted curbs will denote fire lanes and no parking zones to increase both parking lot safety and fire safety for the church.

TeachingtheProj

 

September, 2015 – Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts

After coordinating with park officials and a representative from the Audobon Society, Life Scout W.A. led the construction of replacement blue bird and wood duck houses to use throughout the park. Using house plans specifically designed for these species, he taught his volunteers how correctly build solid structures that will help these struggling birds for years to come. His team then mounted the houses on posts at various locations in the park.

WAhousesWAinpark

April, 2015 – Cooper Middle School, McLean, Virginia

Life Scout C.M. coordinated with local school and park officials to restore park land used by Cooper Middle School students. Under his leadership, Scouts, friends, and others worked together to remove invasive species from a large swath of land that surrounded a prized cherry tree. Of particular concern were several kinds of vines reaching to the highest parts of the tree that threatened to break limbs and block sunlight. The removal effort was long and laborious, but the cherry tree was saved. A few weeks later as the final part of the project, they planted a native oak tree in the area.  Many thanks to McLean Tree Foundation, which donated the oak tree.

Some of the bags of debris removed from behind Cooper MS

October, 2014 – Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, part of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority

Life Scout H.S. constructed an arbor, built fences, and cleared residual debris and harmful vegetation from the surrounding plants. The biggest challenge to overcome was constructing the arbor efficiently. Apart from the construction, and some minor organizational issues; the project went smoothly. The project required approximately 125 person-hours to complete.

Arbor and Fence at Meadowlark Botanical Garden, Oct. 2014