NORTH PARK
is for the
Birds
Shaler’s Tanner Bradford completes Eagle Scout project for the betterment of his community.
S
haler’s Tanner Bradford has been
working hard to make his community a
better place and was recently awarded
the rank of Eagle Scout—the highest
award a Scout can achieve.
Bradford, 17, who will be a senior this
fall, is the son of Lori and William Bradford.
He’s been homeschooled for the majority of
his life, but for the past three years attended
CCAC, taking college courses that count
for both high school and college credit.
Additionally, Tanner has played tennis for the
Shaler Area High School team. This spring, he
advanced to the second round of the playoffs
as Shaler’s first singles seed.
Tanner has been involved with Scouts for
many years. He first began his journey as a
Webelos in 2010. He’s currently a member of
Wexford’s Troop 935 where he’s spent most
of his time, but has also been a part of Allison
Park’s Troop 194 in previous years.
Tanner’s Eagle Scout project was to build
and hang three types of nesting boxes in
North Park—Barred Owl, Screech Owl and
Wood Duck. The project included acquiring
the lumber and plans, cutting the wood,
assembling the boxes, staining them for
weatherproofing and hanging them in the
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park. At the conclusion of his project, he was
able to hang a total of 20 boxes.
“My project helps to give wildlife in North
Park, specifically the birds, sturdy homes for
nesting,” says Tanner. “This helps to conserve
the great nature and wildlife in our large
county park.”
When trying to decide what his Eagle Scout
project should entail, Tanner appealed to
Meg Scanlon—an interpretive naturalist at
North Park whom he’s known for many years
through her free instructional sessions. When
Bradford asked her how he could give back to
the park, Scanlon told him the birds were in
need of new nesting boxes, and so Bradford
went to work.
First, Tanner had to meet with Scanlon
for some project direction. She had plans
for several types of boxes, three of which
Tanner used in his project. Next, he had to
get organized. There was a lot of planning,
including mapping out all of the materials
needed, fundraising and getting a permit to
work in the park.
After he received many generous donations
of both money and supplies, Tanner worked
with his father to start pre-cutting the wood.
“My plan was to cut all the wood beforehand,
label the pieces of each box and construct one
example of each type for the volunteers to
look at, in addition to having several copies
of each plan available,” says Tanner. His plan
worked extremely well. Volunteers were able
to put the boxes together like a puzzle.
On the volunteer work day, Tanner had
about 25 Scouts, dads and other helpers
gather at the Latodami Nature Center to help
him complete his project. With all the help,
it took a much shorter time to complete than
Bradford had estimated. “I planned for about
four hours, but it took less than two!” he says.
“The work day went flawlessly, because of
careful planning and innovative strategies to
help my volunteers.”
Once the boxes were completed, Tanner
needed a way to get 20 or 30 feet in the air to
mount the boxes to the trees. About a month
later, after a great deal of searching, Sal Leo
with Sal Leo’s Tree Service was able to help. “I
am extremely grateful for his generous help,”
notes Tanner. “He offered to spend hours in
the park with me to hang my nesting boxes
and complete my project at no benefit to him.”
Tanner completed his project on May
21. His parents and siblings were invaluable
helpers during the project in addition to
his Scoutmaster, Nate Boyle, fellow Scouts