local eagle scout project at the sundance nature center

This fall, local Boy Scout Justin Farrer, from Saratoga Springs, Utah, partnered with the Sundance Nature Center for his Eagle Scout Project. Justin constructed 5 bat boxes and 2 nest boxes for American Kestrels for the Nature Center. The bat boxes provide important roosting areas for bats. Utah is home to 18 species of bats, all of which consume insects. Most bats consume about half their body weight in insects per night, making them a highly beneficial species to us. American Kestrels feed primarily on insects as well, particularly grasshoppers and crickets. They also eat small vertebrates. Kestrels are summer residents only in Utah. Justin's contribution is integral in providing
nesting and roosting sites for these important animals.

 

Justin is 13 and is an 8th grader at Willowcreek Middle School in Lehi. He loves to ski and was excited to give back to the environment at Sundance for his Eagle Scout project, as he spends a great deal of time skiing here in the winter months.

 

Student involvement and school outreach is an important component to the Sundance Nature Center's programming. This fall the Nature Center sponsored three service days with high school students from Discovery Academy in Provo to pull invasive weeds on the mountain. The Nature Center has also hosted school outreach programs for students in Alpine, Utah and the Soldier Hollow Charter School in Midway.

 

The Sundance Nature Center is a division of The
Sundance Preserve, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to land preservation, environmental education, and programming for the arts, culture, and the environment. To date, the Sundance Preserve has worked to protect close to 3,000 acres of land in the North Fork Canyon. Please visit our website at www.sundancepreserve.org. Please call 801-223-4044 for information on Sundance Nature Center programs.