Published June 1, 2026
BY CHOICE MUIVAH
After Carmel High School senior Conner Bone, who will be attending Yale University, made efforts to restore the Tularcitos Elementary School greenhouse and senior Sam Weaver, who committed to Brown University, worked on a project with the Central Coast Overdose Prevention to make Narcan more accessible in Monterey, the two earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Scouting America.
“They did a great job with managing and leading their projects,” says Ken Ferguson, who has served as scoutmaster of the Carmel Valley Troop 127 for a decade. “I see them transition all the way from middle school to high school, so it’s amazing to be able to see them grow into who they are now.”
Having completed his scouting career, Bone was in Scouting America for over ten years and began plans to renovate the greenhouse at Tularcitous Elementary School—with the help of funding from the district—during the summer before his junior year. The following October, he led about a dozen scouts in building new benches and laying new gravel to update the space.
In the same troop since middle school, seniors Sam Weaver and Connor Bone (from left) are excited to enact positive change with the experience they have gained from Scouting America. photo by CHOICE MUIVAH
“These projects are a way to show scouts that they themselves hold the power to impact their community,” Bone explains. “It proves that if they put the effort in, they can bring positive change.”
Weaver was a scout for nine years and started working with the CCODP, a local nonprofit that advocates for drug and overdose awareness, in eighth grade as a member of their Youth Advisory Board. He began the project his junior year where he led a group of scouts to repurpose old newspaper boxes that would provide free Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse overdoses of drugs such as fentanyl, around Monterey County.
“Scouts has indirectly led me to what I’m doing today,” says Weaver, who discovered his passion for the subject through the Electronics Merit Badge that eventually led him to his decision to major in electrical and computer engineering.
Formerly known as Boy Scouts, Scouting America teaches scouts character, leadership and an appreciation for nature while allowing them to advance through ranks as they become more experienced and skilled to earn badges.
Becoming an Eagle Scout is a long and rigorous process that involves earning a minimum of 21 badges, passing a board of review and completing a service project that benefits the community all before turning 18 years old. After completion, it is recognized nationally as a lifelong achievement.
“I probably wouldn’t have been able to experience nature and have an appreciation for sustainability in that same way without Scouting America,” says Bone, who will be majoring in cognitive science. “It’s also contributed a lot to my character.”
