This past weekend, Coronado teen Emil Henrich completed and presented his Eagle Scout project to PAWS of Coronado Animal Care Facility and the Honorable Mayor Bailey with a hand built Little Free Library. The completion of Henrich’s Eagle Scout Project will come just in time for Coronado’s Little Free Library scavenger hunt to be held on March 6. More information can be found on Facebook.
Henrich, 17, has been involved in Scouting with Troop 806 since he was 11 years old and has earned an impressive 38 merit badges. The Coronado High School junior admits that obtaining the rank of Eagle Scout was “my focus this whole time.”
According to the Boy Scouts of America, “the Eagle Scout rank has represented a milestone of accomplishment that is recognized across the country and even the world. Eagle Scout is not just an award; it is a state of being.”
Upon obtaining the rank of Life Scout, those scouts seeking to be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout must plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project helpful to any religious institution, school, or one’s community.
After receiving approval from the Scouts and PAWS, Henrich began the planning process. He shared, “I knew I wanted to use a recycled material of some kind that would hold up to the weather and help reuse products. I was also careful of not over ordering the materials to ensure less materials wasted. Construction waste is a big problem that is affecting our trees and planet.”
On Saturday Henrich put the finishing touches on his service project; a two shelf, composite material little free library. Henrich’s library is part of a community push to “give citizens the opportunity to have a resource for animal education, animal training, and fun-loving animal books. The library is right beside our front door where we have our adoption wall and kitten atriums. So, when people come to check out the library, they can have eyes on our adorable adoptable animals. PAWS has a lot of good books either about animals or about animal care that we would love to share with the public,” said Mikaela Boudreau, PAWS Operations Manager Coronado.
With his senior year of high school fast approaching, Henrich said he is focusing on getting into his college of choice, The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City.
“I want to be a chef; maybe specialize in pastry and doughnuts and have my own shop” he said. When asked what his thoughts were upon completing the Eagle Scout Service Project, Henrich said, “It’s really cool seeing how all my planning has led to a product and hopefully the community will love and use it for many years to come.”
Written By: Nevaeh Henrich
Sophomore, Coronado High School
