Thank a Scout; Eagle Project benefits Brick Pond Preserve

By Wendy Post —

Back in February, Ethan Ervay, from Boy Scout Troop #43, earned his Eagle Scout badge at the Park Terrace Church in Apalachin. Now, the fruits of his labor will be enjoyed throughout the summer at Brick Pond’s Wetland Preserve in Owego. The final project replaced three deteriorated bridges at the preserve. 

Ethan joined cub scout pack #17 in Spencer, N.Y. in 2017 and soon crossed over to the Boy Scouts. In 2019, when Covid hit, the attendance for scouts declined, and the troop was disbanded. 

In 2019, however, Ethan transferred to Candor Boy Scout Troop #42. It was a small group but a very active group. They stayed active for close to three years until the boys earned their ranks and went off to college, etc. The troop was also eventually disbanded. 

In 2021, Ethan transferred again for the second time to Apalachin Boy Scout Troop #43.The ScoutMaster, Mike Martinez, had a very active and large group of boys earning many badges and achieving their ranks. 

Now, after being a member of three different scout troops, Ethan has earned the 21 required merit badges for the Eagle Rank, of which 13 are required for Eagle Rank. Including 57 merit badges, Ethan achieved 78, altogether. Ethan also earned four Bronze Palms, four Gold Palms, and three Silver Palms. These Palms are worn on the Eagle Scout medal or patch.

To earn the Eagle Scout honor, Ethan had to pick out a project to do that would benefit the community. He chose the three deteriorating bridges at Brick Pond for his project. 

The first step of the project was to develop a project proposal and then meet with the Baden Council to get approval. Second, plans on how the project would be carried out were proposed and presented for approval to the council. 

The third step was to actually build the three bridges, remove the old bridges, and then install the three new bridges in their place. The bridges were installed at the west end of Brick Pond.

In July of 2024, the prefabricated frames of the three bridges began with the help of a family friend, Ethan’s grandfather, and Ethan himself. It took about three months to complete this part of the project.

The hard part of the bridge replacement started in October 2024. All the prefab work for the bridges was done at Ethan’s grandparents’ home in Spencer and then transported to the location in Owego.

The project took three days to complete at that point, with a total of 60 hours and 45 minutes put into the project. 

Assisting were other scouts from Troop #43, some of the parents of the scouts, Scoutmaster Mike, and Ethan’s grandparents, Alan and Cindy Ervay.

Thanks to the project support, Ethan completed his Eagle Project on Oct. 7, 2024, just two days prior to his 18th birthday.

Congratulations to Ethan!