Starting My Journey
I first started with the Cub Scout program in first grade, I attended weekly meetings where I learned life skills. After sixth grade I moved up to the Boy Scout program. I learned teamwork and leadership skills by working with my immediate team and troop to solve problems while on camping trips where tools and resources were limited. I also volunteered at numerous wildlife sanctuaries and schools. Then, in high school, I was given the opportunity to lead my troop of 30 scouts for a year, coordinating camping events, fund raisers, volunteer work, and any other event that needed guidance.
Using the Internet for my Eagle Scout Project
Anyone that wishes to advance from a Boy Scout to an Eagle Scout must first fund, coordinate, and accomplish a large scale project that will benefit the local community. I have assisted many soon-to-be Eagle Scouts with projects such as clearing out an old nature trail at an elementary school or redoing the exterior of the town community center. I thought that these were great projects, but I wanted to do something that was more permanent.
The project I finally settled on was creating an online guided tour through Riverbend Park, our local state park. I completed this by working with the head of the park along with the team that managed their website. I created a dozen different informational pages ranging from Flora and Fauna, to what to do if you accidently touch Poison Ivy. I took a map of the park and plotted out the location of the signs and created directions to get to the next sign from where you were located. I then worked with a local sign shop to create a dozen different signs that said “Scan me with your Smart Phone” along with a QR code tied to a certain webpage, which I placed in the planned locations throughout the park.
The end result was a trail of signs with QR codes starting at the entrance of the park. When scanning the first one, it will give you an explanation of how the trail works and directions to the next one. The remainder of the signs are meant to teach you about all of the Plants and Animals in the park found in the lakes and on land, tips on what to do if you encounter any hazardous animals or plants, and even a thank you page at the end to raise awareness of our local scouting community. At the time of writing this, the trail is still there and used often!
Sadly, at the age of eighteen, my time in the Boy Scouts came to an end. But I was able to walk away with 12 years worth of Leadership, Team Work, Problem Solving, and of course my Eagle Scout rank.