My Eagle Scout Project: Bugs, Poop, and 95-Degree Heat

My Eagle Scout Project: Bugs, Poop, and 95-Degree Heat

This summer, while I was at UGA doing research, I was also working on my Eagle Scout project: something I wanted to be meaningful, not just another "build-a-bench-in-a-random-park" kind of thing. No offense to the bench-builders! I wanted to create something that aligned with my interests and would make a real difference. What started as an idea about bees turned into a full-blown two-part project involving both pollinators and compost. Here's the full journey.

Summer 2024 – The Idea is Born

Back in the summer of 2024, I started brainstorming project ideas. I was focused on how to boost garden efficiency, and bees felt like the perfect fit; they can improve pollination and plant growth significantly (by up to 30–50%, according to some studies). I started learning about beekeeping, planning out how to build a bee box, and even created a video guide to explain the plan.

I emailed a bunch of local gardens offering a free hive with bees. But… crickets. Total radio silence. I figured maybe people working outdoors don’t check their phones much.

One of my project coaches also admitted he had no idea what a “rabbitt cut” was and neither did I. The woodworking was starting to seem impractical. That’s when I put the idea on hold, hoping something better would come along.

Fall 2024 – The Connection

In the fall, on a whim, I asked my garden club teacher if she knew any organizations that might be interested. She introduced me to Our Giving Garden, a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a food pantry and garden.

I emailed them, and unlike my previous attempts, they responded quickly. They told me their hive had swarmed last winter and they’d just hired a new beekeeper, so they’d love to have a new hive. We were in business!

When I visited the garden, I saw they already had a bee box, but it was falling apart. Luckily, several members of my troop were beekeepers and had spare boxes. I got one donated and cleaned it up. But just installing bees wasn’t enough for me. I wanted a project that felt like a capstone to my entire Scouting journey.

So I asked if they needed anything else.

Early Spring 2025 – Enter the Compost

They showed me their compost bins, and I genuinely thought I was looking at a pile of garbage. Rotting pallets, disorganized heaps of leaves and food scraps, no structure at all. Turns out, it was compost. They asked if I could rebuild the infrastructure, and I said sure. How hard could it be?
(Spoiler: pretty hard.)

March–April 2025 – Bee Planning Frenzy

I started preparing for the bee portion of the project in late March and early April. Bees need to be installed in early spring, so time was tight. I ordered the bees for a May 5th delivery.

Meanwhile, I worked through the official Eagle Scout project workbook. Everyone from the garden and my troop signed off, but I didn’t realize I had to finish the entire proposal before starting any work. I rushed to complete it just in time: literally the day before the bees arrived.

May 5–6, 2025 – Bee Day

With my cleaned-up hive and my newly arrived bees, I headed to Our Giving Garden and successfully installed the hive. It was a simple but meaningful start.

Mid–Late May 2025 – Compost Planning

After giving the bees some time to settle, I turned my focus to the compost system. In mid-June, I measured everything out and figured out how many pallets I’d need to build a solid, long-lasting structure.

My project coach, who works in construction, provided all the pallets. Over a Friday afternoon, we filled in the gaps on 7–9 pallets to make them more fence-like. We used three long ones for the back and four shorter ones for the sides.

June 21–22, 2025 – Build Weekend

Saturday

That Saturday, I thought we were just prepping materials. But my coach fast-tracked the timeline. He got the materials and said we were heading to the garden that weekend. I emailed the garden staff, but the gardeners didn’t get the memo in time. So when we showed up, they had just dumped a bunch of fresh compost into the bins we were planning to remove.

We had to dig all of it back out: sweaty, smelly work in 90+ degree heat.

Then we dismantled the old structure. It was flimsy and falling apart, but removing the rusted nails and screws took nearly two hours. After that, we leveled the ground and started placing the back wall. My coach, a 75-year-old powerhouse, kept pushing us to get it just right: "Don’t settle for government work standards."

It was brutal. No shade, blazing heat, constant digging and adjusting. After working from 10 AM to 5 PM, we called it a day.

Sunday

The next morning, I scrambled to get volunteers. Two Scouts showed up. Lifesavers. We had five or six people total, and we
hit the ground running. We dug trenches, leveled the soil, and attached all the pallets to form the walls.

After about two to three hours, everything was in place. We cemented the posts down, gave it one final inspection, and wrapped up the build.

Looking Back

This project pushed me. It tested my patience, my leadership, and my ability to adapt. But it also reminded me of how much I’ve grown through Scouting. I got to combine my interests—gardening, sustainability, and service—in a way that left a real impact.

And now, every time I visit that garden, I know the hive and compost bins are still there, still working, still helping.

Check out the pictures below. I hope they give you a sense of how much effort (and sweat) went into this! Feel free to drop any questions or comments, and I’ll try to respond.

One more blog post is coming soon (give me a few days please). Thanks for reading


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