Eagle Scout project brings stories to life at Audubon Center

Having a mother, father and grandmother who are all teachers probably helped influence the decision to create an educational display for his Eagle Scout project, and the beneficiary is the Pascagoula River Audubon Center and children who will visit in the future.

After 12 years of scouting, Davis Magee of Troop 230 reached out to the Audubon Center in search of an appropriate Eagle Scout project.  As an educational facility, the Center is always looking to expand its offerings to provide opportunities for children to interact with nature.

“The staff at the Audubon Center suggested that I create boxes that would build a story trail around the Center grounds,” said Magee, who then began a campaign to raise the funds to build 12 water-tight story boxes.  He said other scouts and leaders of the troop assisted with the project.

The boxes created will be placed around the 10-acre site and will feature pages of different children’s books that correspond with nature and seasons.  A different book will be featured each month.

Upon completion of this project, Davis said reaching the rank of Eagle Scout is “awesome.”

“It’s been a long journey, but I feel that it has really been an amazing opportunity for new experiences,” said the Pascagoula High School senior who is planning to attend the University of New Orleans and attend the Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering program following graduation.

Scouting has been a father and son activity since he began.  His dad, David, serves as assistant troop leader and believes he and his son have a stronger relationship due to the joint venture of scouting.

“I definitely have a closer relationship with him because of scouting,” his dad said. “This was something we always did together, and it belonged to just us. I don’t think we will ever forget all the camping trips we took together, and it has made us appreciate the time spent away from all the other worries of the world.”

The new story trail will be used during the weekly Toddler Tuesday program and other educational trips with young children.