Living shoreline project results in honor for Eagle Scout
Benjamin D. Parker, a 17-year-old Eagle Scout from Virginia Beach, was recently awarded the 2023 Tidewater Council, Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year.
Benjamin is a member of Scouts BSA Troop 63, chartered by Francis Asbury United Methodist Church.
He planned, organized, led and managed a service project constructing a living shoreline along the Lynnhaven River, according to a release from the Tidewater Council. A living shoreline acts as a natural filter for the water, provides a habitat for many kinds of wildlife, protects against erosion, and improves the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
He sought out the experts at Lynnhaven River NOW, a local environmental organization, to turn his vision into reality. Lynnhaven River NOW and other state environmental groups helped fund the project. Benjamin’s project included installation of 100 feet of coir logs and 40 tons of sand, creating 800 square feet of shoreline, and then the planting of hundreds of sprigs of native aquatic grasses. As time passes, the grasses will grow, anchoring the shoreline until they fully integrate into the local ecosystem, filtering runoff and the water and preventing erosion, according to the release.
He will be honored along with two runners-up at Tidewater Council’s Recognition Banquet on May 15, at the Khedive Shrine Center, 645 Woodlake Drive, Chesapeake. His project has been submitted to the Boy Scouts of America’s Council Service Territory 15 as Tidewater Council’s Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year.
The Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award recognizes “valuable service of an exceptional nature by a scout to a religious institution, a school, a community or another entity.”