An Eagle Scout effort: McDaniels constructs bat houses to benefit Brandon
Submitted photo
Miles McDaniels constructed multiple bat houses for his Eagle Scout project, and installed them last week in trees at McHardy Park.
Staff report
Eagle Scout candidate Miles McDaniels of Brandon Troop 212 finished his service project this week, completing all requirements to receive Scouting’s highest rank.
McDaniels’ service project was to design, build and install bat houses around McHardy Park. According to the Scout, bats are beneficial, as they have the ability to eat their own weight of mosquitos nightly, thus lowering the spread of insect borne diseases like West Nile Virus. Providing bats a place to live also helps keep them from settling in people’s attics and eves, he said.
The bat houses measure eight inches wide and 14 inches tall.
“Think of it as a shoebox but the bottom is not there,” McDaniels said, adding that chicken wire is placed inside the box, which gives the bats something to hang on to.
The Eagle rank in Scouting is the highest of the seven ranks that Scouts can earn. In addition to the service project, the scout must achieve all six of the lower ranks through earning merit badges (13 Eagle required, and an additional eight of the Scout’s choosing), hold leadership positions in the Troop, participate in camping and civic activities and uphold the Scout Motto and Scout Law.
Scouting emphasizes citizenship, leadership, and responsibility in helping today’s youth become tomorrow’s leaders. McDaniels is a senior at Brandon Valley High School and plans to seek an engineering degree following high school.
McDaniels first introduced his Eagle Scout project to Brandon’s Park Advisory Board in January. After explaining the benefits of the bat house project and receiving unanimous support from the park board, Jon Jacobson, park board chair said, “I think it’s a super-cool idea.”
