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CITO as a Scout Eagle Project?


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In our council you would have a hard time getting this approved as an eagle project.

 

An Eagle project cannot be routine labor like yardwork. It also has to have some enduring value.

 

Ditto. Now if it were to include some kind of 'permanent' improvement to the area- creating a walkway/path, putting in a footbridge, installing benches or something along the lines of a nature trail or observatory... a CITO could be incorporated into the project. Would show the community being behind the Scouts etc....

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In our council you would have a hard time getting this approved as an eagle project.

 

An Eagle project cannot be routine labor like yardwork. It also has to have some enduring value.

 

Ditto. Now if it were to include some kind of 'permanent' improvement to the area- creating a walkway/path, putting in a footbridge, installing benches or something along the lines of a nature trail or observatory... a CITO could be incorporated into the project. Would show the community being behind the Scouts etc....

 

This was my thinking as well. In general here, picking up trash would not be a sufficiently lasting contribution and like you two said in a case like this would probably need to include the creation of a trail or improvement of something etc.

 

It doesn't have to be a physical thing (just something lasting... usually a physical thing) but perhaps something like organizing a program for seniors to go out caching along with the CITO could be something that would work? That's just my take on it; my Eagle Project was over 1/2 my life ago but I've been around but not active in scouting since and it seems like it might work :D

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is it just me, or are eagle projects getting lamer?

 

I would agree to an extent. There seem to be a lot more scouts getting their Eagle at the age of 15. I personally think that a Eagle Scout should be at least 16 if not older. I made emergency packs for every classroom in a local school. I wouldn't call it an extremely difficult project, but it was a lot of work putting them all together. To top it off, they have been used on 2 separate occasions already.

 

But back to the question, I don't think a CITO event would be a very good project. Similar to what others have said, you could host a seminar at a grade school, church, community center, etc and teach about GPS, geocaching, orienteering, etc. Maybe ending with a cache hunt you set up for kids and even whole families.

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One of the things I tell my scouts is to find a project you can show to your son when he is trying to find his Eagle project.

 

I was able to show my Eagle project to my son, although it has been repaired and none of the original materials are there the project still stands in Andover Kansas, 30 years later.

Edited by webscouter.
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From the cache listing guidelines:

 

CITO Event Caches

The idea of Cache In Trash Out (CITO) came about late in the year 2000 as a way for geocachers to contribute to the beautification of our local parks and lands. Read more information about the CITO program.

 

The CITO event cache category was added to differentiate cleanup events from other types of event caches. Use this category when you are asking geocachers to show up on a particular day to pick up litter at a park, remove piles of junk near a popular waterfront, etc. Do not use this category for a physical cache that is placed in an area that is need of cleanup – just mention the CITO opportunity on your cache page.

CITO events are set up and sponsored by geocachers – not by other organizations. If you have an event you feel fits within the spirit of this unique category, yet are still unsure, please seek permission from Groundspeak before submitting.

 

I added the bold to the pertinent part.

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If you consider the project management aspects of an Eagle project, a CITO project could certainly be worked in. Coordinating with groups like local geocachers to create the actual event, local officials and groups to identify a location, working with various parties to find a way of building lasting value, planning the activities, scheduling people, arranging for materials and any potential financing or donations, and accounting for all of it ... yeah, CITO can be worked in to an Eagle project.

 

I think area and site clean-ups work very, very well as community service projects within the program, but an Eagle project should rise above that and take it to a different level.

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First, have you gone to your Council Office and talked with them. No wait.

 

This is an Eagle Project.

Has the Scout gone to the Council Office and talked with them?

Has he talked with the Head of the District Eagle Board?

Has he talked with his District Executive?

 

The Troop Scoutmaster should refer to the requirements/Guidelines of a Project to help in the determination of his Project within his community.

If this Scout happened to be in my Troop, I would mention the Guidelines of a Project and suggest something else to spark his interest. Also review other Projects within the District as examples to help encourage the Scout.

Good luck and Safe Scouting.

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i'm seeing what i think is eagle inflation along with grade inflation and standing ovation inflation.

 

i'll explain:

 

used to be that a performance only got a standing ovation if it was extraordinary, if it charged people up way beyond the normal nice evening out.

 

now audiences stand for nearly every performer that gets through an evening without wetting himself.

 

used to be that a B was a respectable grade in school, and an A was reserved for those students who did extraordinary work and went beyond what was assigned.

 

now everyone expects an A for simply not screwing up too badly.

 

likewise i used to be impressed by eagle scouts and their projects; they seemed to be young men of uncommon ambition, vision, and service.

 

these days as i'm out and about and i'm seeing what passes for eagle projects, it seems to me that any lad can slap up an informational kiosk or install a gazebo and get himself an eagle. seems to me what they ought to be getting is an advanced carpentry badge.

 

maybe they're just playing looser with the requirements in councils around me, but i am largely underwhelmed.

 

creating a lasting clean-up tradition in a community would impress me.

having the forethought to create emergency kits where there is a need impresses me.

 

young men who can identify and address need in a community where perhaps no one has seen or done anything about it impresses the heck out of me.

 

tossing up a footbridge and a kiosk seems, uh, tired, predictable, and WAAAAAY too easy. your average brownie troop could do that. and they do.

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is it just me, or are eagle projects getting lamer?

 

I would agree to an extent. There seem to be a lot more scouts getting their Eagle at the age of 15. I personally think that a Eagle Scout should be at least 16 if not older. I made emergency packs for every classroom in a local school. I wouldn't call it an extremely difficult project, but it was a lot of work putting them all together. To top it off, they have been used on 2 separate occasions already.

 

But back to the question, I don't think a CITO event would be a very good project. Similar to what others have said, you could host a seminar at a grade school, church, community center, etc and teach about GPS, geocaching, orienteering, etc. Maybe ending with a cache hunt you set up for kids and even whole families.

 

A little off topic but I agree with the age thing; this is coming from someone who had his board of review at the age of 13. I believe that I was, at the time, one of the youngest in one of the oldest troops in the country. I was ambitious and dedicated to both scouting and advancing but I believe that I would have reaped a richer experience from the pure scouting program had I taken more time. After a few years, I didn't feel like I had anything to accomplish in the normal scouting route. Luckily, my interests shifted into OA and Explorers which channeled the dedication and ambition nicely. However, I think that my troop probably suffered when I started spending more time at those activities (not a self-aggrandizing comment but one that means I appreciate the leadership shown by the older Eagle Scouts while I was younger and feel now that by essentially moving my interests away from the core scouting at 16, I probably deprived younger scouts of a role model).

 

My Eagle Project was pretty ambitious and would still be in use today if not for the fact that the church underwent massive renovations a few years ago. It was nice of them to recognize my efforts (and even more importantly the efforts of the 70 or so scouts and adults involved) in that they consulted me asking if I would mind if my project would be a casualty of the renovation. I had no reservations in saying to do what is best for the church but even today I feel a little sad that I won't be able to show anyone what we accomplished... Oh well... it lasted 15 years and was of great use and I still feel very proud of it :rolleyes:

Edited by mrbort
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I wish my project had been a bit more enduring. For mine, I built a 25 X 25 foot patio at a senior citizens day care center. This entailed digging out the ground in that space to a certain depth and hauling away the fill. Then we had to level it all out, and put in some boards. We obviously had help pouring the slab.

 

The following summer, another scout built some planters around the patio.

 

The next summer, the center decided it needed more space. They tore out the patio and the planters to expand.

 

dadgum!!

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is it just me, or are eagle projects getting lamer?

 

I would agree to an extent. There seem to be a lot more scouts getting their Eagle at the age of 15. I personally think that a Eagle Scout should be at least 16 if not older. I made emergency packs for every classroom in a local school. I wouldn't call it an extremely difficult project, but it was a lot of work putting them all together. To top it off, they have been used on 2 separate occasions already.

 

But back to the question, I don't think a CITO event would be a very good project. Similar to what others have said, you could host a seminar at a grade school, church, community center, etc and teach about GPS, geocaching, orienteering, etc. Maybe ending with a cache hunt you set up for kids and even whole families.

 

Hey, I got received my Eagle Scout when I was 13. If a scout has met all the requirements to earn it, then it should not be withheld for a time in which he is "old enough." In our troop, Most of the scouts got their Eagle Before 15 years of age. Of course, because of the Great Love of the Scouting program that I have, not only did I get my Eagle that early, that also availed me the ability to receive 5 Silver palms and 1 Gold palm before my 18th Birthday. Had I been able, I would have wanted to get the 6th Silver palm.

 

The Key to having a successful Eagle Scout Service Project is Community involvement. This could be anything from people coming out to help to sponsoring by donating supplies and equipment. If you want to incorporate Geocaching into the project, I'd have an event to help build or maintain a local trail/area that has a good group of geocaches nearby. have a sign made that states that it was your Eagle Scout Service Project, the date, and other pertinent information. I'd also include the point that XX people from the local Geocaching community came out in support of your project.

 

After your Project has been completed, have a CITO on the 2 yr anniversary of your receiving your Eagle Scout Rank to clean up the area and see if there are any improvements that you could pass along to the Star and Life scouts in your troop. That way, they may be able to expand or improve it.

 

The Steaks

Eagle Scout on 18 Nov 1996

106 Merit Badges Total

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