Ben Lynch stands next to the hawk and owl cage that he built for Second Chance Wildlife Rescue for his Eagle Scout Project. Emily Flora SWoCo
When it came time for Ben Lynch, a member of Boy Scout Troop 221. to come up with an idea for his Eagle Scout Project to receive Eagle Scout rank, he thought of Second Chance Wildlife Rescue, where he had volunteered one summer feeding rescued wildlife with Sabrina Garvin, the owner.
"I volunteered work here a long time ago," Lynch said. "I was looking around for something to do for my project, so I asked Ms. Garvin if there was anything I could do."
Garvin told Lynch that she would like a cage to house hawks and owls for rehabilitation. After much research, Lynch began drawing up plans for the cage and went through the proper channels with the Boy Scouts to get it approved.
"It had to be a certain number of square feet so that the birds could move aground and I just designed it the way she (Garvin) wanted," he said. "This was the first cage I've ever built. I had built some bars before.
Prior to building the cage Lynch and his friends, fellow boy scouts, and family began working on raising money for the project. Lynch supervised two car washes last fall and raised $1,200 for his project.
22 people and 200 man hours later Lynch's cage was complete.
"It was a good project," he said. I like building and I like wildlife. Everything went well. It was a lot of learning experience. I learned a lot more about building than I'd previously done and I learned a lot about the animals.
And According to Garvin, it's built extremely well.
"I've known Ben for a long time. He volunteered here and is just a great kid, a gentleman. I was honored that he thought about building it for me. It's built very well and I always need help here. He's a hard worker and he's an outstanding person and has a good heart. He's very impressive," Garvin said.
Lynch is the son of Richard and Charlene Lynch, who said, "We are very proud of him and glad he's stayed in scouts as long as he has and that he's completing this."
An Eagle Scout project must benefit the entire community and the scout must maintain a leadership role by coordinating the whole project, raising the money, and leading other boy scouts.
Lynch, a rising junior at Cave Spring High School has nearly completed his Eagle Scout Project. He is currently waiting on his project to be written up and approved by a Boy Scout board.
