Four Bellevue students have earned their Eagle Scout awards. The four, all from Troop 687, are Jake White, 16; Evan Spading, 17; Casey Akana, 19; and Kevin Mohsenian, 19.

White, who attends Interlake High School, led volunteers in painting “Quiet Zone, Walk Please” on sidewalks around Stevenson Elementary School to encourage safety and learning, rebuilt dangerous benches, built a retaining wall, sanded and stained wood, and planted new shrubbery for beautification in the courtyard.

Spading, also an Interlake student, worked with the Bellevue Parks Department to build a 140-foot-long fence along the back perimeter of the Community Gardens located at the Lake Hills Greenbelt Park, in Bellevue, to prevent the gardeners from dumping their garden refuge into the adjacent woodland area, which is part of the park area for public use.

Mohsenian, an Interlake High School and BYU Idaho student, made school supply kits and hygiene kits, including the construction of bags to hold school supplies. He also collected donations by mailing close to 100 letters to friends and family to pay for blankets, pillows, and sheet covers that the school needed. The project benefited St. Joseph’s Indian School in South Dakota, serving the Lakota Indian Tribe.

Akana, a Sammamish High School student, worked with the the Bellevue Parks Department to plant a variety of plants on a barren patch of land on the trail that connects Sammamish High School and the Bellevue Blueberry Farm, also called “Blueberry Lane.” This project mainly benefited the homeowners who live along that trail. Previously there were no large plants, trees or bushes to cover their homes from sight, making it easy for anyone walking on the trail to peek right into their home windows and watch TV with them.

In addition, the project allowed the trail users to walk through a beautiful, lush, green environment without the awkwardness of feeling like they are peeping into others’ lives. Many of the homeowners along the trail who benefited from the project sent Casey boxes of chocolates and letters of gratitude, expressing thanks for his contribution to the community and their neighborhood.

The purpose of an Eagle Project is to teach a Scout leadership skills. To qualify as an Eagle Project the Scout has to plan, design, train volunteers, and supervise the work. If there is going to be numerous volunteers to do the actual work, the Scout is expected to select Work Group Leaders and then train the Work Group Leaders to supervise their own group.

Nationally, three percent of Scouts earn the Eagle rank. In Troop 687, approximately 30 percent% of the Scouts achieve Eagle.