Extreme Makeovers, Round 30: Eagle Scout project before-and-after photos

Note: This is the 30th in an occasional series where I share Eagle Scout project before-and-after photos. See the complete collection here and submit your own here.


To fully understand the impact Eagle Scout projects have on communities, you need to see to believe. That’s why I asked to see Eagle Scout project before-and-after photos — the same photos prospective Eagles are asked to include with their post-project report.

The latest batch of 20 projects includes a bus shelter to keep students dry in the rain, an ADA-compliant vegetable garden and a new welcome sign for a city in Southern California.

What’s great is that you can multiply each individual act of stupendous service by more than 50,000. That’s how many Eagle Scout projects get completed every single year.

TIP: Click or tap and drag the slider below each image to see the change.

Michael from New Jersey

Who: Michael, Troop 213, Saddle Brook, N.J.

What: Michael and his helpers removed an old playground and replaced it with a new wheelchair-accessible playground compliant with ADA guidelines.


Samuel from Florida

Who: Samuel, Troop 46, Tampa, Fla.

What: Samuel and his helpers created a safe and fun children’s play area at a synagogue in Tampa. They cleared out unused items, re-roofed the patio, installed rubber mulch and added new play equipment.


Cole from Indiana

Who: Cole, Troop 446, Indianapolis, Ind.

What: Cole and his helpers rebuilt a fishing pier to add a safer and larger deck area at a local Christian summer camp. The pier now has railings and seats.


Blaine from Alaska

Who: Blaine, Troop 209, Anchorage, Alaska

What: Blaine and his helpers built and installed a custom-made Little Lending Library for the Clare House, a shelter for homeless women and children.


Braden from Delaware

Who: Braden, Troop 239, Clayton, Del.

What: Braden and his helpers installed pavers and built picnic tables to create an outdoor courtyard/picnic area for his school.


Chris from California

Who: Chris, Troop 754, Newbury Park, Calif.

What: Chris and his helpers installed an archaeological dig site and refurbished existing fencing in the Sycamore Canyon School Garden.


Logan from Pennsylvania

Who: Logan, Troop 457, Greensburg, Pa.

What: Logan and his helpers restored a historic cannon at a VFW post.


Preston from Ohio

Who: Preston, Troop: 98, Willshire, Ohio

What: Preston and his helpers constructed a bus hut shelter to keep children safe and dry from the weather elements.


Caden from Minnesota

Who: Caden, Troop 118, Farmington, Minn.

What: Caden and his helpers built bookshelves and provided books for a homeless transitional facility.


Logan from California

Who: Logan, Troop 651, San Marcos, Calif.

What: Logan and his helpers replaced the welcome sign for the city of Vista, Calif.


Drake from Virginia

Who: Drake, Troop 900, Prince George, Va.

What: Drake and his helpers constructed a stone-walled prayer garden on a point of land on Carter Lake at Camp Kehukee in Prince George County.  The prayer garden is for the benefit of the members and guests attending camps from the 47 churches that are members of the Petersburg Baptist Association.


Douglas from New Jersey

Who: Douglas, Troop 95, Sparta, N.J.

What: Douglas and his helpers cleared a trail in the woods, demarcated it with stone, laid two layers of gravel and rebuilt crumbling stairs.


William from Michigan

Who: William, Troop 302, Flushing, Mich.

What: William and his helpers built an ADA-compliant raised vegetable garden and sidewalk for an assisted living senior center.


Nicolas and Alexandre from California

Who: Nicolas and Alexandre, Troop 271, San Diego, Calif.

What: These brothers completed two separate projects on the same site.

  • Nicolas and helpers built a 30-by-50-foot concrete racetrack for a church daycare. They emptied and moved the existing 9,000-pound shed, cleared and leveled terrain, and redid drainage. They poured 9 cubic yards of concrete, painted road signage and installed traffic signs for the race track.
  • Alexandre and his helpers cleared and leveled the terrain in the middle of the racetrack and purchased and installed the artificial grass.

Aravind from New Jersey

Who: Aravind, Troop 489, Hillsborough, N.J.

What: Aravind and his helpers oversaw the construction of a shelter for the horses at Spring Reins of Life, an organization that conducts equine-assisted mental health therapy to community members in need, including military veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Through his project, Aravind wanted to raise awareness of mental health issues and thus to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.


Ryan from Florida

Who: Ryan, Troop 190, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

What: Ryan and his helpers built benches for Cardinal Gibbons High School.


Kevin from New Jersey

Who: Kevin, Troop 129, Old Bridge, N.J.

What: Kevin and his helpers transformed a flagpole area into a “reflection area” for people to sit and honor those who served. The group installed pavers and built two benches.


Andrew from Florida

Who: Andrew, Troop 305, Miami Shores, Fla.

What: Andrew and his helpers designed and installed new landscaping around Miami Shores Presbyterian Church, including all planters and a sign. The area had no landscaping for many years.


Joseph from Pennsylvania

Who: Joseph, Troop 474, Philadelphia, Pa.

What: Joseph and his helpers restored the picnic grove area at a local playground, clearing fallen debris, repairing erosion damage to the trail into the grove and installing a picnic table.


Ethan from Ohio

Who: Ethan, Troop 7, Cincinnati, Ohio

What: Ethan and his helpers created a database of nearly 2,500 veterans buried in the Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati (JCGC) by searching 20,000 burial records from Cincinnati’s Jewish Funeral Home and combined those with the data from JCGC’s existing database so that each grave could be marked with a veteran marker.


About the Eagle Before and After series

Like these? See more here.

How to submit your photos

Have before-and-after Eagle photos I can use in future posts? Go here to learn how to send them to me.

About the Adams award for outstanding Eagle projects

The Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award honors outstanding Eagle projects like those included above.

An Eagle Scout, their parents, or any registered BSA volunteer (with the Eagle Scout’s permission) may submit the Eagle Scout service project for consideration by filling out the nomination form found here.

Visit the Boys’ Life Eagle Project Showcase

For even more great Eagle projects, check out the Boys’ Life Eagle Project Showcase.


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.