Recently, we’ve been following one alumna’s passion project, which will earn her the designation as the first female Eagle Scout from her troop. What started out as an individual plan, bloomed into a full-fledged community effort.

Elysia Craff’s project, building an eagle perching pole on Eagle Island in Eagle Lake, wasn’t simple.

It required special materials, engineering, and some high-powered leverage to hoist the pole upwards.The new perch replaces a previous one that had deteriorated and fallen in a storm.

The project started with digging a 3-foot-deep hole for the cement base filled with forty-eight 60-pound bags of cement mix. This became the foundation for a 35-foot aluminum flagpole, topped with a custom aluminum pipe welded perch. To get all of the pieces together, Elysia gathered support from local specialty businesses and volunteers, as well as financing from her community through a GoFundMe.

Just a few weeks ago, everything finally came together and all of Elysia’s hard work paid off. The new perch is now successfully installed, sturdy, and ready to serve as a safe resting place.

It will undoubtedly stand for years to come, built by one HRS eagle, for all local eagles so they can perch, rest, and preen.