Romir hosted a conservation outing at Fertile Groundworks on April 6, 2024. The outing was organized to assist the folks at Fertile Groundworks in removing the invasive weed species growing uncontrollably around their newly established rows of saplings, which had been planted during a previous conservation event in December, also hosted by Romir. During this outing, the participants dug out the ground to remove an invasive weed species known as bindweed, using tools like shovels, trowels, and rakes. After removing the bindweed, they used wheelbarrows to haul the excess soil onto the garden bed. Then, they evened out the rows of saplings by adding more soil and water around them. The group also used leaves, chosen by the people of Fertile Groundworks, to cover the ground around the saplings.       At the end of the event, they took pictures with the staff and shared refreshments with the attendees. The staff at Fertile Groundworks were very pleased with the work done by Troop 888 and appreciated that nobody pulled out their phones during the outing, a common issue they had observed with other groups. The event ran smoothly overall; however, Romir faced a challenge as not many people who signed up actually showed up. On the event page of the troop’s website, seven scouts and two adults had signed up, but only three scouts and one adult attended. Romir had to make a few last-minute phone calls to arrange for one more adult and another scout to join the event.      

For his project, Saahil planned four phases. The first phase involved prep activity, where he led scouts to create door hangers, an Amazon wish list, and a script. During the second phase, he led 16 scouts and 5 adults in distributing 800 door hangers to the community (targeting Gale Ranch and Windermere neighborhoods), with scouts knocking on doors and delivering pitches to neighbors.       During the third phase, he sorted over 140 items, including medical supplies, educational materials, and books, into U-Haul boxes. Following this, he meticulously shrink-wrapped each box, ensuring the contents were securely enclosed. This preparation guaranteed safe and organized shipping of the goods.       In the fourth phase, he led fundraising efforts: using a gofundme, securing over $900 to cover shipping, door hangers, and packaging supplies for the project’s execution. His leadership ensured financial support for the essential components of the initiative.       The main challenge was to complete the project before April 18th since the shipping company (AmeZam) only collects goods for the orphanage twice a year. Meeting this deadline was crucial to ensure timely delivery of the items to those in need, and was overall successful in getting those in need important resources.  

On February 24th 2024, for his eagle project, Aryan Rathkanthiwar constructed three shelving units for the Monte Vista Track and Field program. He had a huge appreciation to them as they have taught him discipline and dedication. The shelving units went inside their shed that they used to store athletic equipment. The coach was very grateful and the project was overall very successful.       He got a team of 9-11 scouts on both days and built the shelves and installed them into the shed using techniques that made building the shelving units more efficient.             The biggest challenges for him, were logistical issues as there were many issues that he didn’t account for, so he made solutions on the spot, and continued his project.   Overall, the project was over the span of 2 days, and was very successful, as the units are used for the school.

On September 24th, 2023, Rishi Gopalasetty led a group of scouts to the completion of his eagle project. The eagle project entailed building a bench for the late Mr. Steve Gentry, an Orinda Beekeeper as well as the founder of Wagner Ranch Nature reserve (the beneficiary). This project was very important to Wagner Ranch as Mr. Gentry was one of the founders and has had a huge impact on those involved with the nature reserve.   The bench has dimensions of 2×4 feet and is made of redwood as per the beneficiaries request. There was one group working on building the seat and the legs and another group working on the backrest.   First, the seat was made, then the legs were attached.                                             Then the scouts worked on the backrest. The backrest was especially hard because of the way it was designed. It was hard because they had to drill through the top piece of wood to screw the pieces of wood attached to the bottom.     Next, all they had to do was attach the two parts and polish the wood so it wouldn’t be rough and it would have a nice color.   Now all the students and people at Wagner Ranch will have something to remember Steve Gentry by, and I’m sure they will enjoy this bench for a very long time.  

On 12/3/22 Adarsh Danda led a eagle project at Coyote Creek elementary school. His eagle project entailed making four 4’x8′ stages to enhance Coyote Creek’s performance arts department. On Day 1, Adarsh led his team and they marked and drilled all of the wood needed to make the stages. This was the part that took the most amount of time as there was a lot of wood that needed to be marked and drilled. They also had to make sure the measurements were accurate otherwise the stages wouldn’t turn out good.                                               On Day 2, Adarsh and his team finished up the drilling and started to paint. They painted the stages black. This stage also took a while because the stages are quite long and wide and it’s hard paint in the middle of the plank.                             On Day 3, Adarsh and the scouts went to Coyote Creek Elementary School to install the stages. Now Coyote Creek students get to use and enjoy these stages everyday, and I’m sure Coyote Creek students will enjoy them for many years to come.                                                        

On November 21st Vaibhav Muthuraman led a group of scouts in a conservation outing at Fertile GroundWorks. Fertile GroundWorks is a non-profit organization that teaches people how to grow and harvest healthy food for them to eat. They also give fresh fruits and vegetables that they grew themselves to food pantries to help feed those in need. The goal of Vaibhav’s project was to dig 18-inch ditches to help them move water pipes under the ground. This made their process of moving water pipes much more efficient. This was a multi-week project and Vaibhav’s team was only there for three hours and dug six inches throughout the water pipeline area as this was extremely strenuous work, even with eight scouts there. But, at the end the team put all their energy and actually dug an 18-inch hole all by themselves. Vaibhav and his team got Fertile GroundWorks a really good head start on their project                                                         After working hard for three hours, Vaibhav’s team took a picture with the Fertile GroundWorks sign to commemorate their hard work. Vaibhav’s project shows that if you put hard work in you can actually achieve a lot. Hopefully Vaibhav and his team inspire you to give back to the community more.  

On November 11th, Aiden Mok and a group of other scouts led a conservation outing at Fertile Groundworks. Fertile GroundWorks is a non-profit organization that encourages and teaches people how to grow and harvest healthy, nutritious food. They also give fresh fruits and vegetables grown by themselves to food pantries to help feed those in need. The goal of this project was to put a coat of paint on their rainwater pump shed. The primer was already applied so Aiden and his team had to put two more coats of paint onto the shed. Some scouts used rollers to paint on bigger areas while some scouts used paintbrushes for more finer details and places where the rollers couldn’t reach. After around three hours of hard work, the group took a picture with the Fertile GroundWorks sign to commemorate their achievement. Aiden’s project shows that giving back to the community can be fun and rewarding. Hopefully this can encourage others to give back as well.

On June 17th, Neel Manekar and a group of other scouts led a successful conservation project at the Albany Bulb, a former landfill on San Francisco Bay known for its outdoor art. The Bulb is a beautiful area near the bay home to 150 bird species, towering trees, and scenic walking trails.                 The main goal of the project was to protect the local environment by removing invasive mustard plants. Under the guidance of their organizer Mrs. Price, the scouts were provided with tools, and their tasks. Some scouts focused on pulling out the invasive plants while others watered the surrounding flora. After over an hour of hard work the group took a picture near the Albany sign to commemorate their work. This project showcased how we should strive to preserve the environment. By removing the invasive plants, they contributed to the protection of the Albany Bulb’s natural ecosystem. Their commitment will hopefully serve as an inspiration for others to participate in other conservation initiatives.