TAVERNIER EAGLE SCOUT CANDIDATE RALLIES COMMUNITY FOR BIRD CENTER REPAIRS

Seventeen-year-old Keegan Wittke, front right, oversaw a staff of volunteers as part of the leadership component of his Eagle Scout project at the bird center. From left: Aiden Pegues, Cayson Johnson, Chris Walterson, Conner Bell and Tanny Irons. CINDY SMITH/Contributed

On March 11, Tavernier resident Keegan Wittke stood with a clipboard and watched as volunteers dismantled an old enclosure at the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center. The group was building a new home for Ruby the broad-winged hawk and Junior the great horned owl. 

Keegan looked at his long to-do list: make the new enclosure compatible with the center’s standards; install new wooden posts on the old footprint to avoid permit issues; cover the enclosure with wire caging, recruit more volunteers; and, probably most importantly, fundraising to cover the project’s cost.

For those who are wondering: No, Keegan is not a general contractor or an engineer. Nor is he an architect or a construction worker. The 17-year-old Coral Shores High school junior is a Boy Scout who created the bird enclosure project in order to earn Eagle Scout status.

Keegan has been in the local scout program for years, moving up from Cub Scout to Boy Scout. With an eye on becoming an Eagle Scout, he first thought of building a new bird enclosure years ago.

“As a kid, I ​​went to the bird center a lot,” he told Keys Weekly. “It’s a place that’s very dear to me. One of the workers mentioned an Eagle Scout project done there a while before, so I considered that a good idea. Late last year, I emailed the center’s executive director, Jordan Budnik, and we made a plan to take down that old bird enclosure.”

Budnik is thrilled with Keegan’s project. “His work on the enclosure is beautiful,” she said. “He has been diligent in leading his peers and we can all tell he is putting his heart into it.”

Bayleigh MacHaffie, assistant director of the bird center, is helping Keegan manage the project. 

“When we found out that Keegan was interested in restoring one of our sanctuary’s enclosures, we were thrilled,” she said, explaining that Ruby and Junior’s permanent home was old and in need of repair. “The project has proven to be more difficult than anticipated. Keegan has risen to the challenge. He and his crew have worked tirelessly.”

Leaders from Scout Troop 914 are delighted with Keegan’s project. “We are all proud of Keegan’s hard work and dedication, and his many years of scouting,” said Jason Swensson, committee chair member for the troop. “We couldn’t be happier. It’s very close to completion. … An Eagle Scout project is the pinnacle of scouting and has to be completed by age 18. It has to be something that a Boy Scout comes up with on his own. In a nutshell, it helps them develop life skills.”

In his attempt to become an Eagle Scout, Keegan is following in some big footsteps. Other Eagle Scouts include such high achievers as film director Steven Spielberg, astronaut Neil Armstrong, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Nobel Prize winner for chemistry William Moerner. If he chooses, the sky’s the limit for Keegan.

Local charitable humanitarian Cindy Smith has also watched Keegan’s project with pride and has been inspired to photograph his progress.

“He was always a very polite and kind young man,” she said, explaining that she has been a family friend for years. “His project is near and dear to my heart. The bird sanctuary needs all the help it can get. Since COVID, they have been hurting.”

But perhaps no one is more proud than Keegan’s mom, Paula Wittke.

“Scouting has taught Keegan many skills,” she said. “It has helped him grow as an individual, to be a good leader and follower, work as a team to accomplish goals and to persevere. We feel blessed to have the leadership and community behind us. But more than that, the friendships that have been made through scouting are priceless. … I could not be more proud of my son.”For families who are interested in signing up a young man for the local Boy Scout troop, email tim.stanfill@scouting.org for more information. For readers who would like to support Keegan’s Eagle Scout project, go to gofundme.com/f/eagle-scout-project-wild-bird-rehab-center.

Charlotte Twine fled her New York City corporate publishing life and happily moved to the Keys six years ago. She has written for Travel + Leisure, Allure, and Offshore magazines; Elle.com; and the Florida Keys Free Press. She loves her two elderly Pomeranians, writing stories that uplift and inspire, making children laugh, the color pink, tattoos, Johnny Cash, and her husband. Though not necessarily in that order.