Christ School sophomore Bennett David receives William T. Hornaday silver medal in conservation

Press release from Christ School

Rising Christ School junior Bennett David has earned the William T. Hornaday Silver Medal in Conservation. This is the highest Boy Scouts of America (BSA) award for conservation, and the rarest award in Scouting; only 134 Silver Medals have been awarded since its creation by esteemed American zoologist and conservationist Dr. William T. Hornaday in 1914, and only two other medals have been awarded in North Carolina. While over 55,000 Eagle Scouts have been awarded this year, there have only been three Hornaday Silver Medals.

To be eligible for the award, candidates must complete projects in four different areas of conservation. They are similar to Eagle Scout projects, but larger in scale and duration. In addition to the service project component required for an Eagle Project, Hornaday Projects have two additional phases: scientific research and public education and promotion.

Bennett completed the following demonstration projects:

1. Nest Boxes for Nuthatches
   Bennett worked with the NC Arboretum to help Audubon, NC, meet their goal of providing 10,000 nest boxes to help restore this species.
2. The Scout Pollinator Garden Challenge: Monarch Waystations & Pollinator Meadows.
   Bennett worked with the NC Arboretum and Monarch expert Nina Veteto of Monarch Rescue to install a Monarch Waystation and Pollinator Meadow at the Franklin School of Innovation. Bennett has planned and led multiple events to make “Seed Bombs” to help plant native pollinator meadows. This includes projects at the Franklin School, NC Arboretum Summer Camp and NC Arboretum Monarch Butterfly Day where over 450 visitors participated. Bennett founded the “Scout Pollinator Garden Challenge,” as part of the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, to get boy and girl scouts to plant gardens to help our pollinators.
3. Tire Recycling and River Clean Up. Working with Asheville GreenWorks and RiverLink
   Bennett helped organize 100 students and scouts to work over 390 hours to remove 130 tires and other trash from Hominy Creek.
4. Invasive Species Removal, Education & Training Program
   Bennett volunteered over a 2-year period to help clear trails with his scout troop and Christ School students at Richmond Hill.

These four projects included 11 different work days, totaling over 1700 man hours, with over 400 personal hours from Bennett. Over 900 people directly participated (this does not include all the hours and participants that completed work in the subsequent projects, based on the education and promotion of these initiatives). While the demonstration projects are completed, Bennett continues his work on educating others and encouraging participation in these specific initiatives, including the Scout Pollinator Garden Challenge and Audubon. He continues to help others plan and complete their own projects.

Bennett says he is “extremely grateful,” to have won the Hornaday Silver Medal. “It would have been impossible without the support of Mr. Marchal (my advisor) and the participation of the students and faculty at Christ School. I also really appreciate all the conservation experts who were involved.”

Isaac Rankin, Christ School’s Director of Residential Life, says “Bennett’s leadership in our servant leadership program far exceeded any planning and initiative that I have seen from a 10th grade student. He single-handedly coordinated service projects for close to 100 students on multiple days and approached this work with professionalism and conscientiousness.”

Joshua Christ, Daniel Boone Council Scout Executive, says “Bennett David is a very impressive young man and epitomizes what Scouting is all about, character and leadership development and cheerful service…Bennett is the only Scout in the 96-year history of the Daniel Boone Council to earn this achievement, and only the third in the whole state of North Carolina. We are all extremely proud of Bennett for organizing these conservation projects to benefit conservation efforts in Western North Carolina. We hope his leadership motivates other Scouts to follow in his foot steps and work towards this amazing accomplishment.”

A member of Troop 91 in North Asheville, and the Daniel Boone Council, Bennett earned his Eagle Scout at age 12; he has earned 11 Eagle Palms and 132 Merit Badges. He and his brother William founded and maintain “Scout Conservation Help Wanted” on Facebook in order to encourage environmental awareness and action. The page posts conservation educational information, conservation volunteer needs and opportunities, and recognizes scouts for their conservation contributions. Bennett won the Roosevelt-Ashe Outstanding Youth Award from Wild South, the leader in public lands protection in the Southeast. At Christ School’s end-of-year Awards Ceremony, Bennett received the Fourth Form Award for having the highest G.P.A. in the tenth grade, the Physics Award, and the Servant Leadership Award; he has been on the high honor roll since arriving at Christ School in the eighth grade.