Malay Trivedi, a junior at High School South, recently became the newest Eagle Scout of Troop 168. He cleared, emptied, mulched, renovated, and beautified a densely overgrown courtyard at Grover Middle School with the help of his family, friends, and scouts from Troop 168. His project involved clearing a 20-square-foot area, emptying a large pond, leveling the area, distributing mulch, building six benches, and planting flowers in the corners. The completion of the project allows teachers to integrate an outdoor setting into their lessons.
Trivedi originally chose the project by talking to Richard Stec, the former vice principal at Grover. Trivedi had to plan a proposal, fundraise, carry out the project, submit a write-up, and be interviewed before he could attain the rank of Eagle. Trivedi’s project advisor, mentor, and troop leaders were John Kirkenir, Rose Logan, Charu Kanbur, Samir Sathaye, and Dan Logan.
Trivedi began his scouting career in kindergarten as a Cub Scout, and later bridged to Boy Scout Troop 168. Within his troop, he served as the troop librarian, assistant patrol leader, and patrol leader. Trivedi held his Eagle Court of Honor on August 2 at the Plainsboro Municipal Building. Plainsboro Mayor Peter Cantu, West Windsor Councilman George Borek, Fire Chief Tom Healey, and other dignitaries attended the event. A resident of West Windsor, he is the son of Asit Trivedi and Namita Trivedi; and brother of Krishna Trived.
At school Trivedi is a member of Model United Nations, and is an officer of Future Problem Solving, Investment Club, and Amnesty International. “I am more than happy to help the community,” says Trivedi. “My reward is knowing that students and teachers alike are able to utilize and enjoy the area.”
Boy Scout Troop 759 began a 12-day trek at Philmont, New Mexico, in late July. The scouts stopped at different staffed camps, where they learned about the ideals and fundamentals of leave no trace camping, shot various double barrel shotguns, Winchester rifles, black powder rifles, and 0.38 Colt revolvers, threw tomahawks, cared for a Mexican donkey, biked, hiked, forged a metal hook using their skills of blacksmithing, panned for gold, rode horses, and learned how to make meals. Participants included Nikhil Ramakrishna, Brian Sheets, Graham Davies, Richard Maffei, Rohan Nandal, Adam Scherr, Duncan Kreutter, Sunil Ramakrishna, Trevor Davies, Elliot Scherr, David Delmonico, and Ed Mayor.
The crew set up a new camp every day. “Certain tasks involved in setting up camp were quite difficult, especially when in a Leave No Trace campsite,” says Adam Scherr, one of the scouts. “For example, we spent an entire hour setting up the bear bags in Whiteman Vega. Unfortunately, we were told that the bags were not high enough and had to be put in another place.”
“The worst part of the Leave No Trace experience was ensuring that nobody left a trace,” says Scherr. The trace included a tent pole, six tent pegs, a running shoe, a large spoon, a cell phone, a roll of tape, and a few other things. “Although we lost some items, the memories that we created at Philmont will stay with us for the rest of our lives.”
Twelve members of Troop 759 attended Florida Sea Base, a high adventure camp in the Florida Keys specializing in aquatic adventures. They began their 10 day journey on August 5. After attending a baseball game, they stopped at the Florida Everglades National Park, where they took a tram tour and airboat ride where they saw alligators, anhingas, and turtles.
After planning and scuba training for a year, they were ready to board “The Pirate’s Lady,” their home for the next six days. “We did cruise the Florida Keys scuba diving by day and mooring at night in the ocean,” says Dominic Vivona, the scoutmaster. “While scuba diving, we saw beautiful, colorful coral reef structures teeming with aquatic life, including a shark, stingray, and a few turtles.”
“Although the adults chose to sleep below deck in an air conditioned bunkroom, the scouts slept every night under the stars on board the vessel,” says Vivona. “Because of their required anchor watch duties, the scouts had to stay alert overnight to protect the boat and its crew from changing weather conditions or unwanted visitors like modern day pirates.”
Scouts included Nathan Santa Maria, Charles Acuna, Ojas Diwan, Nic Stalzer, Liam Stern, Mihir Punji, Anshuman Punji, Matthew Santa Maria, and Thomas Vivona.
