Eagle Scout Planting Projects Help Enhance the Leeds Pond Preserve

Education Eagle Scout Planting Projects Help Enhance the Leeds Pond Preserve By Long Island Press … Comments Posted on November 13, 2026 Troop 71 Plandome raised $1,000 doing a beach cleanup at the SMLI, Leeds Pond Preserve. Photo courtesy of the North Shore Audubon Society At the Science Museum of Long Island (SMLI) on Leeds Pond Preserve in Nassau County, ecological stewardship is central to the museum’s mission. Two local Scouts recently joined this mission, working to restore the native woods habitat to support local wildlife. Ryan Colello, a senior at Kellenberg Memorial High School and a member of Plandome Troop 71, and Joshua Lin, a junior at Manhasset High School and a member of Manhasset Troop 97, chose SMLI for their Eagle Scout projects, leading an effort to clear invasive non-native plants from the museum grounds and replace them with native species. On two weekends in September, Colello and Lin each led Scout volunteers in removing invasive species from a wooded area near SMLI’s visitor parking lot. These woods have been inundated with non-native plants, including Norway maple, burning bush, and fast-growing English Ivy groundcover. Both scouts raised funds to purchase native plants and tools for the clearing effort, including the efficient Extractigator, which was used to remove saplings and larger bushes. Colello also led his troop in a beach cleanup fundraiser that cleared plastic and trash from the SMLI shoreline on Manhasset Bay. In the spring, Lin’s troop planted 125 native bushes in an irrigated area on the property. The plantings included shade-tolerant dogwoods, such as red osier and silky dogwoods, along with serviceberry and redbud trees. When autumn arrived, the plants were transplanted to the wooded area, where Colello’s troop planted them alongside more than 100 white snakeroot plants and 40 Virginia creeper plants. Thanks to these scouts, 287 native plants are now thriving in an area previously overrun by invasive species. This restoration is an important step toward promoting biodiversity and a healthy environment for local wildlife and pollinators. If you’re interested in planting native plants on your property (public or private), or if other scouts want to work with SMLI on their Eagle Scout project, please contact [email protected] . About the Author All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines . Schneps Media does not endorse the views shared by readers in our comment sections.