Michael Riley stands in the sanctuary garden outside the First Baptist Church in Edgewater. Michael recently earned his Eagle Scout award for his work in creating the garden. Photo by Mitchelle Stephenson
South county teen Michael Riley picked up his Eagle Award earlier this month at a ceremony held at First Baptist Church in Edgewater.
A member of Troop 741, which meets at the Deale Elks Lodge, Michael wanted his ceremony to be held at the church since that was the location of his Eagle project.
Two years ago, Michael began considering what kind of project he wanted to do to earn his Eagle Scout award. He consulted with Scout leaders and some of the church elders at First Baptist, and decided that a project that involved his church would be a good fit.
After meetings with the pastor and the church youth leader, the teen decided on the creation of a sanctuary garden outside the main entrance to the church.
At the time, the site was landscaped with dozens of large boxwood shrubs and other plantings.
Michael met with a landscape designer who helped him to plan out a use for the space. The idea was to have seating and picnic tables so that when the church held dinners, people could have a place to eat outside. In addition, the area could be used as a quiet place for Bible study before or after services.
Once Michael met with the designer, he started to get an idea of the enormity of the project. He knew he could count on his fellow Scouts for the labor, but he also needed to acquire the benches, picnic tables, mulch and plants for the new space.
Michael worked tirelessly to make contacts in the community. He called Johnson Lumber to get the lumber donated. He contacted Greenstreet Gardens who donated the design services and Trent Hill Nurseries who donated the plants. He contacted Level Green Landscaping in Deale for the mulch and weed barrier cloth as well as use of a backhoe to dig out the existing shrubbery.
On a sunny weekend in June of last year, Michael put all of the pieces of his project together. He had over 60 volunteers on site. That number included not only the youth group from his church, but also fellow Scouts. He enlisted friends and family too. The age of participants ranged from 5 to 70, many putting in two, 9-hour days to get the job done. In all, Michael's Eagle project took 470 man-hours.
By the end, he'd also collected over $2,500 in donations, which he used to supplement the donated items. For example, he had to buy the frames for the picnic tables and benches. Because he wanted something that would last, he selected the same style and brand used in state parks.
With all of those helping hands, Michael's sanctuary garden was completed for the most part by the end of the work weekend.
From there, he spent time putting the paperwork together and making his presentation to troop elders.
This has been a big summer for Michael. Not only did he earn his Eagle Award, but he also graduated from Southern High School in Harwood. He's starting Anne Arundel Community College within the next few weeks.
He adds that to his growing list of accomplishments, among them People to People Ambassador, church youth basketball coach, soccer, baseball and basketball player, food pantry volunteer and more.
"I feel like leadership would definitely be the one thing I took away from the experience," Michael said. "And the work ethic," he added.
He said that it also made him feel good that he got to do something for the church.
The new garden is visible from the road as you pass the front of the Edgewater church at 89 West Central Ave.
Ten-year-old Eric LeBow of Edgewater got to throw out the first pitch at last Sunday's Bowie Baysox game against the Portland Seadogs at the Baysox Stadium in Prince George's County. Tammy LeBow, Eric's mother, said that she got a call from the Baysox because they wanted to have someone throw out the first pitch for Autism Awareness Night. Tammy is the facilitator ofa parents' autism group that meets at Mayo Elementary School one night a month.
"We have a support group of parents from south county," Tammy said. "We started meeting about four years ago," she said.
Tammy is the leader of the group, although they also have a social worker who regularly attends. In addition, the group also hosts guest speakers.
Tammy's son wasn't diagnosed until he was 5. She said that getting information was the hardest part, and she credits meeting other parents with helping her navigate the challenges of parenting an autistic child.
"While there is a lot of literature available, sometimes having another parent share their experience is more helpful," Tammy said, noting that sometimes parents of autistic children don't have a lot of time for reading.
The group has in total about 30 members, although on any given night anywhere from five to a dozen show up.
The Baysox contributed $3 to autism research for every designated ticket purchased for the Aug. 16 game.
Tammy said that when the team called, they were looking for a high functioning child to throw out the first pitch. She thought her son would enjoy it and not be too frightened by the crowd.
"Eric got a charge out of it, he was ecstatic to be able to have a chance to do it," Tammy said.
Eric was one of three autistic boys who got to go to the mound on Sunday.
"It was a real honor … and a lot of fun," Eric said after the experience.
For parents interested in joining the autism support group, contact TammyLeBow@verizon.net. The group will solidify their monthly meeting schedule once the school year gets underway.
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