GENESEO — Two members of Geneseo Boy Scout Troop 4070, Jacob French and Nick Lamb, have earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank available to youth in Boy Scouts of America.
Jacob decided to build a storage shed with the help of the Scouts and other community members that would benefit Odyssey of the Mind team members for years for his Eagle Scout Project.
Nick, the grandson of Gordon and Peggy Lamb of Oakfield, designed and led the Boy Scout team that helped build a sensory pathway for the Margaret Harrington Memorial Project, a sensory garden at the Arc of Livingston Wyoming’s KidStart campus in Groveland.
The Margaret Harrington Memorial Project commemorates the late KidStart director’s 18 years of service to the children and families of The Arc of Livingston Wyoming. The sensory pathway – one of several elements in the interactive garden – stimulates the senses of sight, taste, touch, and sound at a pace an individual can control. The sensory pathway was a goal Harrington had as a space for children and families of every ability to enjoy.
Nick designed the curving sensory pathway to be 40 feet long and 4 feet wide. Brick pavers line the outer edge of the pathway and also separate 10 distinct sensory components within the pathway. Nick designed the pathway to combine several different materials to give people a multiple sensory experience.
“Our walkway has mulch, logs, many different sizes of stone, and other materials that offer many different sensory experiences to students,” he said.
A set of wind chimes, a checkerboard garden, and the sensory pathway complete the Margaret Harrington Memorial Project.
“The sensory pathway was a great project to benefit the children and families of the Livingston County ARC,” said Nick. “I want to thank the many Geneseo Troop 4070 Scouts, adult leaders, and community volunteers who dedicated their free time to build the Sensory Pathway.”
Nick, a senior at Geneseo, is the son of Craig and Janet Lamb. Craig has served on the parent committee throughout Nick’s Scouting journey. Janet helps lead Girl Scout Troop 51140 in Geneseo. Nick has two sisters, Emily and Anna.
As Boy Scouts, Jacob and Nick both went to the International Jamboree in 2017 and the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico in 2019. The Scouts hiked from camp to camp while carrying everything they needed on their backs in 60-pound packs. They participated in search and rescue, mountain climbing, fly-fishing, adobe brick making, gold prospecting and participated in a service project for preventing forest fires from spreading.
It took Jacob two years to plan, design, present, secure approvals, and redesign his Odyssey storage shed. Jacob challenged himself to learn more about construction and engage the Geneseo Central School Board of Education and Maintenance Department for counsel and the state Department of Education for approval. The difficulty and complexity of the project was far greater than Jacob expected.
When construction finally began, more than 50 Scouts, students, adults, and community members contributed over 600 hours toward the project.
Jacob’s positive attitude, persistence, and leadership brought the Scouting and Odyssey communities together to complete a project Jacob would never have accomplished on his own, according to Troop leaders.
Jacob, who joined Cub Scouts in first grade, joined Odyssey of the Mind in kindergarten. Odyssey of the Mind Mind is a creative problem-solving contest with students in grades K-12 from all over the world. Geneseo Odyssey teams have performed at regional, state, and world levels, taking six first-place titles while facing teams from 53 countries across the globe.
Jacob, a senior at Geneseo who continues as an Odyssey of the Mind team member, realized that the growing number of Odyssey members and a lack of dedicated storage space inhibited team creativity and caused damage to student creations.
Jacob realized that his Eagle Scout project could benefit Odyssey of the Mind and decided to build a storage shed with the help of the Scouts and other community members. The shed will benefit Odyssey of the Mind team members for years.
Jacob is the son of Bryan and Marion French. Bryan is an Eagle Scout and Scoutmaster and led troops to Philmont, New Mexico, and Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia.
Jacob is a third generation Eagle Scout as his father, grandfather, and three uncles are Eagle Scouts. Jacob’s brother, Noah, is a First Class Scout in Troop 4070.
Jacob completed the BSA’s National Youth Leadership Training, a week-long camping experience designed to give youth leaders the experience, skills, and confidence to lead younger Scouts.
Jacob has served a year as Senior Patrol Leader to 30 Boy Scouts, leading weekly meetings, planning outings, and helping fellow Scouts be active in troop leadership roles.
Geneseo Troop 4070 was established in 1968 and celebrates fifty-two years of Scouting in 2020-2021. Since April 2020, Troop Meetings take place via zoom on Mondays at 7 p.m. via Zoom video conferencing software when Geneseo Central School is in session.
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