 | | | Photo provided | | | | | | Boy Scout Troop 237 of Orinda honored five Scouts, Ryan Ansel, Matt Lyons, Mason Januszewski, Adam Brudzinski and Andrew Patten, for achieving Scouting's highest rank of Eagle Scout on Sunday, Nov. 25 at the Orinda Community Church.
Ansel, a junior at Miramonte High School, wanted to give back to his high school and chose a project to support Miramonte's horticulture program. He built four large planter boxes with integrated covers. The covers provide insect and frost protection enabling the planter boxes to be used for the full school year. The produce grown is used by students in the culinary program. In addition to Scouting, Ryan plays baseball for Miramonte and is an avid surfer.
Lyons is a sophomore at Miramonte High School and designed a project to support fundraising efforts for Sleepy Hollow Elementary School. He organized Scouts to build eight life-sized figures out of plywood and mount them around the school's carpool circle, which would remind parents to donate. These "kids" are now part of the school's culture and are frequently brought out and redecorated for holidays and for fundraising efforts. Outside of Scouting, Lyons rows for Oakland Strokes Rowing Club.
Januszewski, who is a junior at Campolindo High School, designed and built a cage-free mobile adoption center for Cat Town in Oakland. Cat Town is dedicated to providing shy, senior and other at-risk cats a second chance at adoption in a cage free environment. The goal of the project was to demonstrate Cat Town's on-site adoption success by duplicating its cage-free experience on the road. Januszewski also served as the Troop's Senior Patrol Leader in the 2017-18 school year. Outside of Scouting, Januszewski is on Campolindo's football and track and field teams.
Brudzinski, who is a freshman at Miramonte High School, partnered with the East Bay Regional Park District to conserve water and protect a young grove of 84 redwood trees at the Kennedy Grove Park. The project involved protecting the tree bases with landscaping fabric and wood chips and is estimated to save 8,900 gallons of water per year. In addition to Scouting, Brudzinski plays JV football at Miramonte and likes to ski and golf.
Patten, a junior at Miramonte High School, upgraded a fence at the Wagner Ranch Nature Area frog pond. The nature area is an outdoor education center serving the Orinda Schools. Together with fellow scout volunteers, Andrew rebuilt portions of the perimeter fence and dug a trench system around the fence to add a barrier net to keep predator wildlife out of the pond area, which is home to a variety of native and rare species. The location of the project was personal to Patten, as he visited the nature area often during elementary school and benefited from the hands-on outdoor education experience it provides. Outside of Scouting, Patten is on Miramonte's wrestling and cross-country teams.
For more information about Troop 237, visit www.troop27orinda.org.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA