Boy Scout works on bat habitat, new trail as part of Hornaday Award project

Ehren Braun, Cody Borchert, and Josh LaMotte recently worked on building a new trail at Hoffman Park, a 265-acre park in Cary featuring prairie pothole wetland, woodland, savanna and remnant prairie.

Ehren, a member of Venturing Crew 158 in Crystal Lake, is working toward completing this project in the hope of earning the William T. Hornaday Bronze Medal Award, one of Scouting's rarest and most prestigious honors in conservation.

Its rarity stems from the rigor of its requirements - multiple conservation achievements and the completion of three significant conservation service projects, each one at or above the level of an Eagle Scout project.

The award began in 1914 by Hornaday, director of the New York Zoological Park and founder of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. He was an active and outspoken champion of natural resource conservation and a leader in saving the American bison from extinction. The award, originally called the Wildlife Protection Medal, encourages Americans to work constructively for wildlife conservation and habitat protection. After his death in 1937, the award was renamed in Hornaday's honor and became a Boy Scouts of America award.

Venturing is a coed Scout affiliated organization for young men and women ages 13 (if you've completed eighth grade) through 20. To learn more about Venturing Crew 158, visit www.facebook.com/TacoCrew158/.