Communities

‘Creating a better place to live’

Oswald relandscapes Kiesling House for Eagle Scout project

NEW ULM – Life Scout Zachary Oswald and his assembled crew spent two days working on relandscaping behind the Kielsing House for Oswald's Eagle project. 

"I kind of wanted to do something a little different than other kids in my group," Oswald said. "You always hear of people making benches and stuff."

The Eagle project, along with merit badges, is a key necessity to earning the Eagle rank in Boy Scouts. 

"It's a service project for your community that you have to direct to demonstrate leadership skills," Oswald said. 

As a Park and Recreation employee, Oswald got in contact with Park and Recreation Director Joey Schugel who suggested the Kiesling House project. 

"[The] area became dilapidated over the years," he said. "It was a huge help to have Zach and his team come together and do it in a really short amount of time." 

With Park and Recreation supplying the materials, Oswald was responsible for assembling his team, providing water, and filling out the paperwork involved. 

Oswald's team assembling skills worked out a bit too well, with roughly 14 people showing up for the first day. 

Prefacing that he was thankful for all of the help, Oswald said, "We had almost too many people for the job. I was managing more [people] than I felt like it needed. It's not like you can work on planting while getting all the dirt moved around and stuff."

Even with the extra hands, Oswald enjoyed leading the project.

"My favorite part was definitely starting out and having all the people I invited slowly come in... [and telling them] what we were up to, working together."

The first day consisted of three or four hours spent digging out all of the old vegetation and laying down the railroad ties. 

Mulching and planting were finished on the second day, completing the project. 

The Kiesling House project is just one in a long series of acts of service that Oswald has assisted with during his time as a Boy Scout. 

Having been involved as long as he can remember, Oswald credited his mom with Boy Scout involvement. 

"I was young, [and thought] I have to do what my parents tell me to do, so I did it. But I really liked it," Oswald said, "If there's a scouting event, I would definitely like to go to it." 

These events include the "stereotypical camping trips" as Oswald put it, but also consist of acts of service for the community.

"We always have these days throughout the year where we get the whole troop together, go through the city, and just help out," Oswald said, "On Earth Day we'll... do yard work... and [in winter] shovel snow."

Acts of service do not end after earning the rank of Eagle Scout. Oswald is a member of the Order of the Arrow, which is a branch of Boy Scouting that goes until age 21. 

"Their whole thing is cheerful service, you get all the campouts and stuff, but it's more so just an extension of Boy Scouting," Oswald said. 

As a larger group, Order of the Arrow projects aid New Ulm and surrounding communities, as well as help maintain trails and campsites 

Projects like Oswald's leaving lasting impressions on the community, "It may not be [a huge project], but each project individually building on top of each other creates a better place to live."