Eagle Scout & Gold Award Projects

Wyatt designed and built a permanent timber shade gazebo on the main zoo grounds. The gazebo provides guests and volunteers with relief from peak summer heat and acts as a central hub during major holiday festivals and community gatherings.

Austin led a crew from Troop 301 to construct heavy-duty, all-weather picnic tables for the sanctuary. This project replaced aging seating, bringing them together in a dedicated dining area set away from the animal habitats where visiting school field trips, families, and guests can snack or eat lunch in peace.

The scouts of Girl Scout Troop 448 planted productive blueberry bushes across the property to provide seasonal fruit enrichment for our rescued birds, tortoises, and small mammals. The troop also organized and staffed an Easter event concession stand to directly support animal feed costs.

For her Gold Award, Sarah built a covered shelter porch right on the waterfowl pond, giving our resident pelican a dedicated place to get out of the elements and stay safe when temperatures get severe. She also worked with Duck Creek Printing to replace a batch of old, weathered information signs with fresh 12x12 durable plastic markers along the walking paths.

Led by Mari V., Girl Scout Troop 751 constructed a dedicated, insulated animal care building engineered to shelter the sanctuary's rescued tortoises, snakes, and reptiles from freezing Delaware winter temperatures, ensuring a safe, temperature-controlled environment year after year.

As part of her landmark Chew at the Zoo project, Sarah organized and constructed the sanctuary's original visitor dining tables and community rest area. For years, these handcrafted wooden tables welcomed thousands of visiting children, families, and school groups, setting the precedent for youth-led service builds at 3 Palms.

The scouts of Troop 950 completed a comprehensive educational signage build across the entire property. The girls researched each resident species to design, illustrate, and mount durable custom informational markers—highlighting everything from our screech owls to native foxes—enriching the learning experience for thousands of visiting field trip students.