When Secaucus High School sophomore and Life Scout Justin Addevensky announced that he would be cleaning a stretch of the Hackensack River in his bid to become an Eagle Scout, he thought a handful of volunteers, maybe 40 people, would lend a helping hand.
“The river is a big part of my life and I want it to be the best shape it can be in.” – Justin Addevensky
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An active Boy Scout for the past five or six years, Addevensky knew he wanted his Eagle Scout project to benefit the community, but he wanted it to have personal significance as well.
“The river is a big part of my life and I want it to be the best shape it can be in,” he said, explaining why he chose a river clean-up as his Eagle Scout Project. “Ever since I was really young, I’ve always been on the river, fishing, boating. And now I have a boater’s license, so that’s another reason why I wanted to do this.”
He decided to focus his efforts on the riverbank that stretches from the Middle School to Mill Creek Point.
The location and project clearly resonated with the school community. For three weeks Secaucus High School Principal Pat Impreveduto broadcast Addevensky’s project over the school loudspeaker and encouraged other students to pitch in.
“A lot of school clubs decided to participate,” he said. “One of the honor societies that has a community service requirement encouraged its members to participate, too. I called in People to People International, and people from Integrity House.”
Of course, members of his Boy Scout Troop 22 helped out as well.
The half-day project began at 8 a.m. and ended at 1 p.m., with a break for lunch.
Found objects
Before Addevensky’s army of volunteers descended on the riverbank, the area was littered with old tires, plastic and Styrofoam cups, bottle caps, paper, wood, even syringes, which were taken away by police officers, not students.
“Even people who aren’t into the river the way I am don’t want to see all that trash,” Addevensky said. “There’s a walkway [along the river]. People who like to go out and just be in the area, it’s better if they can actually see a natural environment, rather than seeing all that garbage.”
He estimated the Middle and High School communities will benefit most by the cleanup, although local wildlife will benefit, too, he noted.
“It will give the wildlife a place to live,” he said. “You know, before they were living between logs and garbage, which isn’t really a healthy environment. It helps the school because, let’s say the high school’s Environmental Studies class takes a walk out there and takes samples from the river. The more garbage there is the more it harms their samples.”
Fly like an Eagle
Eagle Scout is the highest rank a boy can achieve within the Boy Scouts of America system and requires years of community service and ongoing participation in a local troop. According to the Boy Scouts of America, only about 5 percent of all scouts attain the Eagle Scout rank.
To become an Eagle Scout a young man must advance through the lower scouting ranks of Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, and Life. Throughout each rank he must demonstrate leadership ability within his community and within his troop, and he must pass specific tests and acquire various skills. In addition, 12 merit badges in the areas of first aid, citizenship, environmental science, personal fitness, personal management, camping, and family life. Other badges may be obtained in lifesaving, emergency preparedness, cycling, hiking, and swimming.
Even with the river clean-up behind him, Addevensky said he’s still unsure how close he may be to a promotion.
“I still have to earn three more merit badges and do a written paper on my [river clean-up] project,” Addevensky, who hopes to join the U.S. Coast Guard after high school, said.
At some point an Eagle Scout Board of Review will evaluate his project, he believes, and will vote on whether to promote him.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.