Eagle Scout candidate gives back to his church

Barrington teen's Eagle Scout project improves church irrigation, hardscaping

Posted 7/12/18

Barrington's Michael Zeleznik has found a way to successfully juggle work, athletics and scouts, as well as church and civic duties.

The rising Barrington High School junior is also working toward …

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Eagle Scout candidate gives back to his church

Barrington teen's Eagle Scout project improves church irrigation, hardscaping

Posted

Barrington's Michael Zeleznik has found a way to successfully juggle work, athletics and scouts, as well as church and civic duties.

The rising Barrington High School junior is also working toward earning his Eagle Scout rank with a project that focuses on improving the irrigation and hardscaping at Barrington Congregational Church. 

“Michael is an exceptionally hard-working and focused young man,” said Troop 2 Scoutmaster Wade Ogden.  “He owns his own successful business, is active in scouting and plays on the high school baseball team yet manages to juggle all responsibilities with a smile on his face.”

Michael has owned his own business, Mike’s Greenscaping, for six years. He employs two part-time workers, along with putting in full-time hours himself. Starting the business in fourth grade, he has grown his book of customers to 40 Barrington individuals and families.

Michael's experience as a landscaper helped him identify a need when attending services at Barrington Congregational Church. He noticed that water and sand were ruining the landscaping surrounding the sanctuary.  So he decided to fix the problem.

Michael submitted a proposal to Troop 2 for an Eagle Scout project and approached the church council with a plan to implement a solution. Leveraging a modest budget provided by the church buildings committee, Michael purchased materials from Lowe’s, Home Depot and J&J Materials at a generous discount. 

Using tools from his business and a dozen younger scouts as labor, he supervised and implemented an irrigation and hardscaping project. Together, Michael and his crew built a trench along the brick walkways, poured concrete and laid cobblestones around the church to divert runoff.   

“I chose this project because I really wanted to give back to my church,” said Michael. “Our Boy Scout Troop meets there every week and my family worships at the White Church so it was nice to be able to do something valuable in return.  

"It’s gratifying to see my Eagle Scout project making a difference in our community.”  

Michael's good deeds do not stop with his Eagle Scout project — his landscaping business has sponsored a Little League team and he recently returned from a church mission trip to Arizona helping an indigenous family.  

Michael attributes his values to his parents, Kim and Robert. One day he hopes to follow his mother’s footsteps along her academic path, too, and attend University of Massachusetts at Amherst to study landscape architecture. For now, Michael will enjoy playing for the Barrington High School baseball team and mowing lawns.

Troop 2 Barrington, is the oldest troop in the Narragansett Council of Boy Scouts. Numbering 50 scouts.

Led by Mr. Ogden, the scouts meet Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. at Barrington Congregational Church during the academic year and welcome boys from throughout the community to participate in team-building, leadership and value development activities.

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