Local Eagle Scout Earns Coveted National Conservation Award

After four years of work, local Eagle Scout Nicholas Storm of Troop 277, will receive the rare “Distinguished Conservation Service Award” from the Boy Scouts of America on January 27. He’ll be the 6th person to earn it in this region, and one of about 1,200 that have received this award in the United States in the last 110 years[1].

“We are very proud of Nicholas earning the Distinguished Conservation Service Award. This award is extremely prestigious, and we think of it as an Olympic Gold Medal bestowed on the Earth,” said Kelvin G. Williams, CEO of the Boy Scouts of America North Florida Council. “Over the course of four years, Nicholas demonstrated great focus, leadership, planning and execution in completing projects to earn this rare award. He is the epitome of Scouting excellence,” he added.

To obtain this award, a Scout begins by earning two of five conservation badges. Storm earned all five, which are Environmental Science, Fish and Wildlife Management, Forestry, Soil and Water, and Sustainability. After that, another two of five badges are required – Storm, of course, earned all five: Energy, Fishing, Pulp and Paper, Weather and Bird Study. Then two conservation projects are required, both of which entail giving a talk to the community at their completion.

Storm chose to do two projects for Lord of Life Lutheran Church which sits on six acres of land at 276 N. Roscoe Blvd. The first, started in 2021, was planning and creating a Prayer Garden where all the plants and flowers would be Florida native, drought-resistant and attract birds and pollinators (butterflies, bees and moths). Pollinators are vital to Florida’s agriculture. This prayer garden took two years to plan and execute.

The second project then swung into the planning phase and was completed in 2024. It was a physically challenging project to go through dense brush and trees to identify an invasive non-native tree species called the Chinese Tallow. Storm identified over 200 trees on the church’s property! Then he had to learn how to effectively cut down or cut into these trees and apply an herbicide that would slowly kill them and arrange a work weekend with Scouts and adults.

This initiative was to stop Chinese Tallow from competing with native species for resources, sunlight, and space. Additionally, its leaf litter alters water quality and wetland habitats, which negatively impacts the lifecycle of semi-aquatic species like frogs.

Storm worked on these two projects with his conservation mentor Ginger Feagle, the North Central Regional Coordinator of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Moreover, she is part of The North Central Florida Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA). She will present the award to him.

During this time Storm also worked on and received a coveted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) award that challenges Scouts to learn about, explore, and conserve the world around them while learning about the EPA’s impact since 1970. To achieve this award, Scouts must earn the Public Health merit badge and one from each of Animal Study, Outdoor Activity, and Earth Sciences.

“I’m very proud to have finally earned this Distinguished Conservation Service Award and done something meaningful to help conserve and protect the integrity of trees, plants and pollinators in the Ponte Vedra area,” said Storm, age 18. “Every conservation effort has a positive impact,” he added.

Storm will be a freshman in college this fall and plans to focus on healthcare. This past summer he attended a week-long residential program at USF which was the culmination of a year's long participation in the Civic Fellows Program, an initiative designed to immerse students in local, county, and state government civic functions. He attended Florida American Legion Boys State where as a “Congressman” he won "Best Bill in The House". The bill focused on reducing Red Tide in Florida. He also participated in the HOSA-Future Health Professionals' International Leadership Conference where he competed in the Biotechnology category winning the "Excellence Award " as a Top 10 Finalist. And finally, he worked as an Intern at Nemours Children's Health Hospital in the SHARPE program which centers around a study of healthy adaptation of resilience in emerging adolescence and adulthood.

[1] Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSA_Distinguished_Conservation_Service_Award_Program. Viewed January 2025.