It started with a speech…or, to be more specific, researching what to speak about for his Communications Merit Badge. “As I was reading to get ideas, I learned about the problem with plastics/trash in the ocean,” says Eagle Scout Parker T. “I learned that in just another couple decades there will be more trash than marine life in the oceans! It was mind-blowing. I knew I wanted to write about this to help educate my fellow Scouts.” That “mind-blowing” moment stuck with Parker. So, the Longhorn Council, Scout did something about it. Recognizing that combating the global issue of marine debris starts at the grassroots level, the Order of the Arrow member got to work launching a two-part Eagle Scout Service Project focused on conservation. Parker reached out to the park manager at Rockledge Park, a recreation area on Lake Grapevine, in Grapevine, Texas. He contacted Clear Texas Lakes, an organization that helps clean debris from Texas lakes. He asked his beneficiary to post on their social media about his efforts. He spoke at his own troop meeting (shoutout to Troop 1225 in Flower Mound, Texas!). He attended the Orion District-SHAC Roundtable meeting to inform adult troop leaders of his endeavors. “This worked well as I was able to get Scouts from five troops to help me,” Parker notes. With the help of his fellow Scouts, Parker designed, crafted and installed an educational board at Rockledge Park that details everything from swimming and boating safely, to native poisonous plants, to fossils in the area, to how to keep the waters clean (with an illustration of how debris in Lake Grapevine makes its way to the Gulf of America!). Then, he led a MASSIVE cleanup effort along the shoreline of Rockledge Park on Lake Grapevine, with over 50 volunteers lending a hand. Thanks to Clear Texas Lakes, debris was retrieved from the water – via boat – as well. As Parker encourages and supports his fellow troop and patrol mates on their journeys toward Eagle, his work at Grapevine Lake continues to make an impact for wildlife and wilderness explorers. “ I am excited about Scouting America’s potential impact on lake and ocean conservation as this is a topic that should be important to all of us,” he says. THIS is youth-driven leadership. THIS is #ScoutingAmerica. 🙌 #meritbadges #ScoutsBSA #eaglescout #cleanwaterscouts (fb)

'Following in her brothers' footsteps, Sophia said: “If they can do it, I can too.”' (fb)