ELHS student completes wildlife–based Eagle Scout project

Nov. 20, 2018 | Payton North
payton@thereminder.com

East Longmeadow High School senior Nicholas Lamon recently completed his Eagle Scout service project which involved hanging biodegradable birdhouses throughout walking trails in town. Above, he poses in front of the East Longmeadow Town Council members Paul Louis Federici, Kevin Manley, Donald Anderson, Council President Kathleen Hill, Council Vice President Michael Kane, Thomas O’Connor, and Joseph Ford.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

EAST LONGMEADOW – East Longmeadow High School senior Nicholas Lamon has recently become an Eagle Scout after completing his service project in the community.

Since he was eight years old, Lamon has been involved in scouting, starting as a cub scout and moving up the ranks. His mother, Michelle, suggested that Lamon and his brothers get involved, and he joined one of the local packs with his friends.

Noting the misconception that scouting is “just about camping,” Lamon dispelled the rumor, and stated it is much, much more.

“Being a part of scouting I learned a lot of leadership skills, learned how to work with people and how to lead people to work together and accomplish goals,” he said. “There’s a lot of misconception that it’s camping in the woods, when in reality, it’s learning a lot of life skills, it’s relationship building with friends and future job contacts. I’ve learned how to be a mentor, balance a checkbook and how to take care of my family. It’s learning how to cook, how to shoot a rifle, how to shoot a bow, and camp in the woods. It’s teaching as a whole.”

Something else that Lamon explained has been useful, both in and out of scouting, is his ability to do first aid.

“I’ve been CPR certified for the last four or six years or so, and I’m the go–to person in my troop for first aid, I always have the biggest first aid kit,” he said.

The purpose of a service project as an Eagle Scout is to add something to the community that people can benefit from without any detrimental impact on the surroundings, Lamon told Reminder Publishing. Noting this, Lamon shared that his older brother Tyler had completed his Eagle project in 2016, which was a trailhead at Brown Farm on Hampden Rd. in East Longmeadow. By the community garden, there is a trailhead set up that Tyler constructed with mapped out trails so the community could enjoy the trails.

Since the trail map was constructed, the area has gained much more foot traffic than it was accustomed to. Lamon wanted his project to find a way to bring more wildlife back to the trails. His idea? Birdhouses–but not just any birdhouses.

“The issue was that I didn’t want to build them or nail them to a tree, or put them in the ground, because then you’re harming the resources. I did some poking around and I found a company called GreenBird out of Ohio. They make green birdhouses with recycled paper and they’re hung with a cloth strap,” Lamon explained.

After one nesting season, the birdhouses biodegrade. They’re specifically designed to fit the small birds that are located in the neighborhood. Lamon brought his idea to the to scouts, and one of the adults suggested he paint the birdhouses. This presented another challenge, as Lamon didn’t want the paint to be toxic and harmful to animals if consumed. Completing more research, he found that GreenBird produces a paint that’s made out of milk and barriers and when mixed with water, it can be water colored onto the birdhouses.

Teaming up with a Cub Scout pack, Lamon and the cub scouters painted 28 birdhouses. The following weekend in early May of 2018, all 28 were hung on the trails.

“By spring of next year [2019] they’ll be gone, but the goal is that since most birds don’t nest in the same house twice, they’ll come back after migration and build their own nests in the trees,” he related.

On top of his role as an Eagle Scout, Lamon is a personal care attendant for a young adolescent who has autism. He finds this work extremely rewarding, and notes it has heavily impacted the person who he is today.

“It’s absolutely way harder and different than you think, but it’s so rewarding when my client can go somewhere and feel like he doesn’t stick out. That means the world to me,” he said.

Additionally, Lamon has played the drums for eight years, and has played classical, electric and acoustic guitar for the last five. He is a member of the East Longmeadow High School band, and explained that piano is next on his list of instruments to conquer.

“My whole family is really into music, my great grandfather was an incredible musician. He played every instrument known to man,” Lamon shared.

Following his high school graduation this coming June, Lamon hopes to attend a four–year college or university and major in cyber security. His greatest hope is to move to work for the United States Department of Homeland Security or the United States Department of Defense.

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