Local Boy Scout earns Eagle badge by making improvements to area preserve

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Local Boy Scout earns Eagle badge by making improvements to area preserve

Around Osceola

Thursday, 03 June 2010 00:00

Keenan Schmidt, of Boy Scout Troop 240 in St. Cloud, completed his Eagle Scout project on March 22 at the Osceola County Historical Society, making improvements to a local nature preserve.
According to a press release, Keenan developed, planned and led a project involving multiple improvements to the society’s 8-acre Mary Kendall Steffee Nature Preserve, across from its Pioneer Village on Bass Road. His project objectives were to replace a series of numbered markers along the trail with the plaques containing full text of each featured plant species and provide general maintenance for sections of the trail that were affected by dense foliage, making it difficult to stay on the trail. Scouts from Troop 240 and other volunteers participated in the project.
The society doesn’t have a regular staff of people to maintain the Nature Preserve on an on-going basis, and must rely upon the interest and help of people and projects such as Keenan’s to help keep the preserve in good condition for the enjoyment of its Pioneer Village visitors,” society spokesman Phillip Jackson said.
Previously, hikers required an accompanying guidebook to interpret local plant life. Now, with this improvement, hikers no longer need the book to learn about and enjoy the flora and topography along the mile-long trail.
Support for Keenan’s project came from Boy Scout Troop 240, Golden Eagle Engraving, Lowe’s in Kissimmee, Rental World, BarBerQ and the Sonic restaurant in St. Cloud. Keenan’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor was held at 6 p.m. May 21 at the First Baptist Church of St. Cloud.
The society invites the public to walk through the preserve and see Troop 240’s work.