Kayla Beck, Reporter
@kbeckcourant
The New Canaan Nature Center has always been a place where members of the community can come to explore the natural beauty in the town, including various animals native to the area. Recently, the Nature Center acquired a new “bird blind” allowing people to watch these animals without disrupting them. It was contributed to the center by senior Shafer Jones, who build the blind as his Eagle Project, meritting his hard-earned rank as an Eagle Scout.
Shafer has been a Boy Scout for years and has dedicated himself to bettering the community by upholding the Boy Scout law, with qualities such as loyalty, obedience, trustworthiness and bravery- working his way up to becoming an Eagle Scout- the highest rank of Boy Scout. “Becoming an Eagle Scout is difficult,” he said. “You have to complete a project that betters the community as well as getting a mentor and demonstrating leadership qualities.”
AP Physics teacher Paul Reid is also an Eagle Scout and has spent his life following the Boy Scout program. “The primary things talked about in Scouts is the way to live your life. What makes a good citizen? Those are tenants I’ve live my life by,” he said.
Senior Johnny Frey rose to the Eagle Scout rank alongside Shafer, and the accomplishment has required him to fully dedicate himself to his troop. “It’s difficult to be involved in extracurriculars such as sports,” Johnny said. “It’s not impossible, but it’s definitely harder.”
As a Scout, Johnny has travelled around the world with his troop. “Being a Boy Scout is a lot of hard work, but it’s also very fun,” he said. “We do activities such as backpacking in New Mexico and travelling to Switzerland, so you get to meet people from all over the world.”
Being a Boy Scout not only makes it possible to meet new people through traveling, but the Boy Scout troops themselves also grow incredibly close. “On practical level, it created great friendships. My three closest friends in the world, that I still get together with a couple times a year, we’re all friends from Scouts and we are still in touch today.” Mr. Reid said.
Along with lifelong friends, being a Boy Scout also opens up an extensive networking system with people all across the world. “Becoming an Eagle Scout was extremely gratifying because not only do you make friends and help people, but you know there’s a massive network of successful people that are also Eagle Scouts,” Shafer said.
The Boy Scouts is a network that is constantly evolving and growing. “I was in the first Coast Guard class with women in it and I see how it changed for the better,” Mr. Reid said. “Now there are more diverse opinions and ideas about leadership.”
Throughout the changes made to the Scouts, the Boy Scouts have always remained a tight knit group of people determined to serve their communities. “I’ve created some really good bonds with these kids,” Johnny said. “We’re like a team.”
