Have you ever met an Eagle Scout and wondered what it is all about? Recently Evergreen Audubon, Evergreen Park & Recreation, and Denver Mountain Parks benefited from the efforts of Simon House, an Eagle Scout candidate from Troop 217 in Denver. Did you know that many of the park benches and picnic tables at Evergreen Lake are the result of an Eagle Scout project? 

An Eagle Scout project is a community service assignment that a Scout must plan, organize, and lead. It must help a school, religious group, or local community organization. The purpose of an Eagle Scout project is to give a Scout the chance to demonstrate leadership, help the community, practice project management, and is the final major step required to earn the Eagle Scout rank, which is the highest rank in Scouting America.

Simon decided to reconstruct the Evergreen Audubon observation board, which is located along the boardwalk just northwest of the Evergreen Lake House. Specifically, Simon had to redesign the board, determine the materials and labor required, acquire funds for the project, seek help from scouts in his troop and adult leaders, and lead the construction. 

Evergreen Audubon was the main organization benefiting from the project. Coordination with Denver Mountain Parks and Evergreen Parks & Recreation was also required and these organizations realized the benefits of the project as one of the amenities of the Evergreen Lake grounds. 

The observation board was constructed over thirty years ago and was showing its age. It was originally designed and constructed by The Evergreen Naturalists, which evolved into the Evergreen Naturalists Audubon Society, then to today’s Evergreen Audubon. The idea of routinely determining the presence and distribution of the birds around Evergreen Lake originated with Bill Brockner and Sylvia Brockner, the first president of The Evergreen Naturalists. Since then, the observation board has become a welcome feature for many community members that review the board periodically to see what birds have been seen. Evergreen Audubon has a group of volunteers that walk around the lake nearly every day throughout the year and record what species they see on the observation board. 

Evergreen Audubon is indebted to Simon for his leadership and hard work. Simon’s Eagle Scout project is now complete and being put to good use.  Stop by and check it out.