There are 10 signs that show pictures and information about species of birds and the trailhead sign at the C. Bickham Dickson park in Shreveport. The project was to earn the rank of Eagle Scout for Tristan Davey, 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron son and a junior in high school, and for his troop, which is based out of King's Highway Christian Church.
"As a military brat, I know that only hard work and perseverance can bring about a job well done," Tristan said. "Using both, Troop 92 accomplished their goal of honoring a past scout.
Tristan said when it came to the quality of the product, his role as a military brat is apparent.
"Everything in the military has to be done right the first time or it's not worth doing, so I didn't want anything to go wrong with the project; it's going to have my name on it forever," Tristan said.
Tristan said his dad was an Eagle Scout, too, and he decided to pursue that rank when he realized he could keep it beyond the age of 18.
MaryBeth Davey, his mother, said scouting has been the one constant for Tristan. She added how the organization allowing him to keep his rank has helped his transition into a new troop during military moves.
Tristan had known Matthew in general, but didn't know much about him besides that he had been a Boy Scout, so he got more information from his Scout leader. Matthew had come to C. Bickham Dickson park for his first bird watch.
"I didn't want to make something temporary that just looks pretty, I wanted to make a usable memorial," Tristan said, adding there are the most species of birds available in that area, so it is a big bird-watching area.
Tristan had done an internship with LSUS in their life sciences division, and he worked through that school to get a permit to put in the signs.
"Tristan has a passion for biology, so it kind of fits both interests," MaryBeth Davey said.
Tristan did the measuring, the planning and the fundraising toward the project. The unveiling of the memorial and the bird signs came Aug. 9.
The most challenging aspect of the project for Tristan was not being able to do much of the hands-on work and had to let the Boy Scout troop do it.
"It's like telling me to plan something out of Legos without touching a Lego set," he said.
"The Eagle Scouts project is more about leadership — planning it and leading others to do it more than actually doing it," MaryBeth Davey said.
Matthew's parents also helped put the signs up.
"It was really interesting because the adults set up the first sign and then the Scouts helped more with the second sign, and it evolved so the last sign was done completely by the Scouts," MaryBeth Davey said.
The troop did fundraising at King's Highway Christian Church and Broadmoor United Methodist Church. The project was budgeted to be $540 and they received almost $1,000. A contractor, one of the Scout's dad, donated tools for the job and at first offered a discount, but then he chose to donate the plastic lumber signs, which cost $27 each.
With the money that is left over, Tristan plans to get a granite stone and have the Scout law routed into it and set up a scholarship for Scouts to attend camp.
Tristan passed a local board of review Aug. 21 and has submitted the project to a national panel for their review before he officially earns the Eagle Scout rank.
He plans to pin on the rank in a ceremony during his Christmas break.
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