For Zara Raza‘s eagle project, she created a sensory sandbox for RISE Academy. The old sandbox was weathered and damaged, and is now much nicer thanks to her and all the scouts participating. Her CoH was on 8/11/2024.
For Rae Sox-Harris‘s eagle project, they made a fence boundary for Byxbee Park. At the Byxbee Park Parking lot, visitors have worn their own trails into the hills surrounding the lot, causing dangerously expedited erosion into the landfills that they were built upon. Rae and their group have installed a fence boundary that will encourage the use of established trails and will subsequently slow the needed repair of the landfill. Exposing the culminated waste that supports these hills could potentially release unwanted debris into the surrounding habitats and water. Native species have been planted and will aid in the prevention of erosion by starting up root systems to keep the ground knit tight and dissuading visitors from straying off of designated trails. These plants will overall help retain a healthy local ecosystem. Their CoH was on 8/11/2024.
For Jesse Gross‘s eagle project, she built a moveable wooden sign at the class offices and open houses. Her project benefitted Foothill Middle College, the program at which she completed her senior year of high school. She has so much appreciation for her teachers and the Middle College community, and she wanted to give back to those who supported her. She hopes prospective students will see her sign and feel the warmth and sincerity of the program. Her CoH was on 8/11/2024.
For Marrisa Tang‘s eagle project, she made a youth art exhibition at Allcove Palo Alto. Through creating flyers and posting on social media, I recruited 10 youth artists of varying ages and supplied them with paints and canvases to create a piece that reflected the theme “The Most Beautiful Thing in Life”. The exhibition remained in Allcove for over a year and contributed to Allcove receiving a substantial amount of private funding.
She’s expanded upon this project, having founded the nonprofit organization, Youthimpact.art. Their initiatives now encompass various projects, ranging from art exhibitions that showcase youth artwork in public spaces like community centers, libraries, and cafés to workshops designed to promote art and technology literacy among low-income seniors. Here is a link to their website. Her CoH was on 4/30/2023.
For Ellen Kim‘s eagle project, she built five wobble boards of varying sizes and one seesaw for Pets In Need Palo Alto. The wobble boards provide mobility exercises for animals so they can work on stamina, and balance, and remain healthy. It meant a lot to Ellen to bring joy and fun to dogs who were anxiously awaiting a new home. The project taught Ellen the importance of detailed research and planning, seeking expert advice, and leading through her actions. It was especially gratifying for Ellen to see the many sheltered dogs playing with her wobble boards as their tails wagged uncontrollably with excitement. Her CoH was on 4/30/2023.
For Piper Lyons‘s eagle project, she designed and led the building of 6 nets for the garden beds at Walter Hays Elementary. The nets are redwood frames with hardware cloth netting stapled on. This has been helpful for Walter Hays because they have a partnership with Gamble Gardens, and because of COVID, the 3rd graders at Walter Hays aren’t able to go to Gamble Gardens for their gardening program. They’ve moved their gardening program to some of the old, previously non-utilized, garden beds on campus, but they weren’t able to fully implement their plans for a vegetable garden because animals kept eating the veggies before the kids could.\ The Walter Hays principal, Mary Bussman, asked me if I could design and build garden nets to the specifications of the Gamble Gardens crew so that the 3rd graders could have their vegetable garden again. Since installing the nets, they’ve been able to grow their vegetable garden again, and many people on campus have even thanked me for how pretty the nets are and how they really enhance the space on campus. Her CoH was on 2/12/2023.
