Yorkville Eagle Scout project to help bats at Farnsworth House
The Farnsworth House, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is the beneficiary of six new dual chambered bat houses as a result of the leadership efforts of one local Boy Scout.
Andrew Golinski of BSA Troop 40 in Yorkville recently initiated and implemented a plan to lead a team of Scouts and adults for the two-day project for his Eagle Scout service project at the Farnsworth House in Plano, IL. The project consisted of more than 174 volunteer hours of service.
"They were looking for an environmentally safe way to protect their visitors from pest insects like mosquitoes, moths and beetles without using harmful pesticides. The bat houses also will provide a safe, warm place for female bats to raise their young pups. Since bat populations naturally grow very slowly and due to the loss and degradation of bat habitat, it is becoming harder for bats to locate roost sites to raise their young," Golinski said of his desire to do the project.
"We were delighted to work with Andrew and Troop 40 on this special project and look forward to increasing our resident bat population as a natural means of reducing our mosquitoes. The bat houses were installed in open habitat areas and blend well with their surroundings," said Scott Mehaffey, executive director of the Farnsworth House.
Golinski joined Troop 40 in 2014. Subsequently, he has earned the ranks of Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life and completed this Eagle project in September. In addition, he has earned 24 merit badges, including the 13 required to earn the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout.
Golinski has participated in many community service projects, including many Eagle Scout projects for fellow Scouts. His other volunteer activities have included Memorial Day, Veterans Day and flag retirement ceremonies; helping at the Yorkville American Legion Post 489, Troop 40's chartering organization; highway cleanups; and clearing the snow and cutting the grass at the Chapel on the Green, the site of the Troop's weekly meetings.
"I enjoy volunteering and supporting our Troop's projects for the benefit of the community," Golinski concluded.
Golinski is a senior at Sandwich High School where he plays varsity baseball and basketball.
Contributors to the project include The Conservation Foundation, BatBnB, Grand True Value Rental of Yorkville, and the Golinski Family.
BSA Troop 40 Yorkville was organized and has been in continuous operation since the summer of 1914. The first Scoutmaster was Reverend Ernest Lee Ackiss, at the time a 26-year-old student of the Divinity School at the University of Chicago and pastor of the Yorkville Baptist Church. The Troop met at the original Yorkville Congregational Church on Saturday afternoons. Today, Troop 40 currently has nearly 40 active Scouts and 116 Eagle Scouts. It meets every Monday during the school year, 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Chapel on the Green. For information, visit www.yorkvilletroop40.org.