A scout gets his wings

Alex Coolman

For the last four years, as he has worked his way up the ranks of the Boy

Scouts, Michael Bury has had his eye on the top prize.

Now the 14-year-old Newport Beach resident is about to get what’s he’s

been wanting. With the completion of a project building recycling bins

for the Environmental Nature Center, Bury will finally qualify to become

an Eagle Scout -- the highest rank in the organization.

Bury made the four bins, designed to collect glass, paper, plastic and

aluminum, out of heavy plywood. Putting them together turned out to be a

fairly involved project, and it took about six weekends of sawing and

hammering and painting before they were finished.

The hands-on nature of the project appealed to Bury, he said.

“I took wood shop, and I really liked that. And this was kind of like

wood shop.”

But playing with plywood wasn’t the end of the project. Bury also created

a series of signs listing information about recyclable materials.

In his sign about plastics, for example, he notes that the material “is

made from polymerizing molecules, mostly extracted from petroleum, into

little pellets.”

The info was gleaned from books, the Internet and a few calls to

environmental organizations, Bury said. And tracking it down, he feels,

has made him a little more environmentally aware.

“I think recycling is important, especially after doing all the

research,” he said.

The containers will be delivered today to the Environmental Nature Center

in Newport Beach, which educates visitors about agriculture in

California.

Dan Orduno, grounds coordinator for the center, said the bins will be a

welcome addition to the facilities there.

“It’s a great help for the center because we’re a nonprofit

organization,” he said. “Any help we can get from the Scouts or any

benevolent organization is a great help.”

As for Bury, he doesn’t sound particularly interested in taking a rest

now that he’s achieved his goal. When asked about his future plans, his

eyes lit up at the thought of potential Scout accolades.

“There’s different Eagle Palms you can get [for community service],” he

said. “Bronze, gold and silver.”