Eagle Scout Projects

The Houston Arboretum & Nature Center offers Eagle Scout Project opportunities once a month each calendar year. Projects performed in service to the Houston Arboretum typically are finished in one weekend and require the Eagle Scout Candidate to raise funds for their projects.

Life Scouts have performed a variety of projects in the past five years at the Arboretum which address conservation of our natural resources or safety and accessibility of our grounds to the general public. Life Scouts interested in performing an Eagle Scout Project at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center should download and complete the Candidate Information Form (download pdf or MS Word file) and return it to Joe Blanton, Conservation Naturalist and Infrastructure Projects Manager by email or fax. Once the form is received, you will be contacted to schedule an on-site interview.

Eagle Scout Projects currently available:

• Title: Trail Resurfacing Project
  Description: The Eagle Scout Candidate will be asked to spread suitable crushed granite or recycled crushed concrete on the South Meadow Trail to ensure universal accessibility. The material to be used must be approved by the Nature Center.
  Duration: Approximately one weekend, eight hours on both Saturday and Sunday (additional time may be required depending on the amount of volunteers and area to be resurfaced).
  Fundraising Amount: $350-700 ($0.50 per sq ft)

• Title: Invasive Plant Control - Removal & Restoration
  Description: The Houston Arboretum & Nature Center is actively involved in removing several exotic and invasive plant species that have successfully colonized the grounds. Some of these foreign invaders include Chinese and Japanese privet (Ligustrum sinense and L. japonicum, respectively), air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera) and Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera).  Once removed, trees and shrubs native to the Houston area and approved by the Arboretum are purchased and planted in their place.
  Duration: Approximately one weekend, eight hours on Saturday devoted to invasive plant removal and eight hours on Sunday planting natives. (additional time or alternative days may be required depending on the amount of volunteers and area to be controlled).
  Fundraising Amount: $600 ($20 per plant)

• Title: Creation of Educational Kits
  Description: Some of the educational programs that we provide here at the Arboretum are badge workshops for both boy scouts and girl scouts.  One boy scout badge workshop involves construction of bird houses.  This project (and others like it) would require carpentry skills and the ability to create 48 kits.
  Duration: Two days, preferably weekends or holidays. Most of the work can be done on-site or off-site.
  Fundraising Amount: $480 ($10 per kit)

Other opportunities are available, including specific projects not listed here as well as project ideas supplied by the Eagle Scout Candidate.  These opportunities will be discussed during the on-site interview scheduled after receipt of the Candidate Information Form.