Meet Uptown's First Girl Eagle Scout

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Becoming an Eagle Scout is a big deal. It's the scouting equivalent of a black belt, and it requires years of hard work and dedication.

But, until Washington Heights-based 14-year-old Cerys Hardy achieved the ranking in March, no girls north of 96th Street in Manhattan had ever become an Eagle Scout in Scouting America's more than 100-year history.

Hardy, now a ninth grader at the Bronx High School of Science, was the first girl to join Cub Pack 729 in Washington Heights in 2018, around the same time that Scouting America went co-ed.

She was also the first girl to receive the Greater New York Council’s Supernova Award in 2021 and the first girl to be awarded the Arrow of Light (which is the highest award in Cub Scouts) at Pack 729 as well.

"My brother became an Eagle Scout two years ago, and that really inspired me," Hardy said. "My dad also received the highest award from British Scouts, so I wanted to become an Eagle Scout like the rest of my family."

To become an Eagle Scout at Troop 728G in Inwood, Hardy had to rise through the ranks, earn at least 21 merit badges, serve in a leadership position in her troop, and plan and lead a significant service project.

She's mentored younger girls in troops and learned all kinds of survival skills, leadership skills, and complicated knots, she said.

For her service project — the final step to becoming an Eagle Scout — she built a substantial rain collection system at her former school, PS/IS 187.

More than 20 volunteers donated 190 hours to assemble a platform as well as three connected barrels and an overhanging surface to gather and funnel the rain for reuse.

It was a difficult project that required lots of precise measurements and plans, and a lot of trial and error, Hardy said.

But, she persevered, and now the students at her alma mater will get the chance to learn about water conservation and how to care for a garden using sustainable resources, Hardy said.

"Now, the students can use it to water the garden because there's a spigot on there, and the garden will be adding a drip irrigation system that leads to a section of the garden right next to it and we also have a poster that I have designed, and that's currently hanging up right next to it as well," Hardy said.

After the project was complete, Hardy went before a Scouts review board to share the results of her project, and the board granted her Eagle Scout status in March.

Her review board included Scout leaders, her former teachers, and State Senator Robert Jackson, who represents Inwood and Washington Heights as well as parts of the Bronx.

To mark the historic award of the first girl Eagle Scout north of 96th Street, Hardy will receive a proclamation from the State Senator, which will be entered into the New York State permanent governmental records.

"I hope there will be many more in the future," Hardy told Patch.

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