Boy Scout Cleans Up Stiltsville

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When Drew Collins puts his mind to something, you can bet it’ll be big. His Eagle Scout leadership project was ambitious to say the least. Drew is a Boy Scout Patrol Leader in Troop 69, Thunderbird District in Princeton, FL and his vision was to clean the waters of historic Stiltsville.

Most native Miamians don’t know where or what Stiltsville is, yet this 17-year old twelfth-grader took it upon himself to make sure he had a positive impact on the local environment. “Other Eagle Scout projects are building benches, planting gardens and painting things… I wanted to hit it out of the park,” explained Collins.

Drew’s mom, who actively helped organize and participate in the project, added, “Drew dreams big. He goes to the School for Advanced Studies and is simultaneously earning a college Associate’s degree from Miami-Dade College.  He started out wanting to be a dentist, then it was orthopedic surgery, now he’s thinking biomedical engineering.” Drew plans to continue his education at MIT.

Mark Collins, Drew’s father, was the inspiration for the project. “My dad knows friends from Stiltsville. He brought me to swim and play there when I was young. There are houses in the middle of the ocean and it’s beautiful. When I saw the trash below, I knew I had to help clean it up.”

Located in the shallow channels just south of Key Biscayne, Stiltsville has its place in Miami’s rich historic fabric. Since it’s beginnings in the 1920s as a place for politicians, boaters and the social elite to avoid Prohibition, the area has been home to as many as 27 interesting rustic “shacks” that sit on pilings about 10-feet above the bay.

Almost constantly under fire from hurricanes and governmental challenge, only seven houses remain. Today, protected and cared for by the Stiltsville Trust, these homes still stand, but are in need of some real TLC.

So, early on September 15th, Drew organized around 50 volunteers from Boy Scouts, his school, friends and family to get cleaning. After his mom Debbie and sister Rachel systematically signed everyone in, Drew stood atop a picnic table and took charge. “It’s time to kick this off. I appreciate you all coming out…now let’s go clean up!”

He assigned about twenty volunteers, led by his friend Brad Hadley, to scour the shoreline of Matheson Hammock Park using more than a dozen canoes. Then, riding in his father’s boat, Drew met the remaining members of the Stiltsville cleaning armada at the Jimmy Ellenburg house, owned by William Tuttle, grandson of Julia Tuttle.

Drew Collins surveys Stiltsville as his cleanup day gets started

In expectation of Drew’s help, the home’s caretaker posted a sign that read ‘CAUTION – Ocean Clean-up In Progress by Drew Collins Eagle Project’. The moment Drew saw it he said, “This is gonna be great!”

All day, divers and snorkelers constantly combed the Biscayne Bay floor for trash. As expected, there were tons of glass beer and soda bottles. A few bottles of wine came to the surface still fully corked, though no one dared try the wine inside.

Drew enticed people to find the oddest or most interesting item, “Remember, you are treasure hunters. Now go get some!”

Plenty of treasure was found. A used stereo system, an ornate china teacup, cell phones, folding lawn chairs, a 10-foot ladder and lots of sunglasses were brought up. Probably the best find was the full-sized refrigerator that was home to a moray eel and other aquatic life.  They decided it was best to leave that behind for its new role in the habitat.

University of Miami grad student, Christina Vilmar, dives for trash.

During the day they bumped into a Biscayne National Park research team studying why predatory lionfish were attracted to Stiltsville. Originally, they thought this would hinder the Scout cleanup effort, but it actually helped, as the scuba diving research team joined in. “They were awesome! It feels good to have them help out,” said Drew.

Before leaving the Jimmy Ellenburg house, caretaker Dave Reed helped Drew post his permanent ‘Keep it clean or pay some green’ sign, leaving a lasting reminder to future visitors. The other six houses will soon sport the same signs.

Boat by boat the trash made its way back to Matheson Hammock where it filled a dumpster. Drew returned the next day to continue the Stiltsville effort and will work with all seven houses for the foreseeable future.

Once Drew turns in his papers and passes a Board Review, this outstanding young man should be officially named Eagle Scout before the end of 2012.

Here is the video version of this story:

Update

on 2012-09-23 02:12 by Hal Feldman

Drew wanted me to make sure everyone who helped him got the recognition they deserved.  Here is his list of volunteers and sponsors:

Family and friends    

1.     Debbie collins

2.     Mark collins

3.     Rachel collins

4.     Gale jankowski

5.     Sharmaine ward

6.     Patty smith

7.     Joshua coyle

8.     Patty coyle

9.     Alejandro marquez

10.            Gabriel marquez

11.            Samantha vitaliano

12.            Antuanet rivera

13.            Madiline freeman

14.            Jim cobb

15.            David reed

16.            Billy stahl

17.            Dale schrack

18.            James roman

19.            Shelby rowland

20.            Maurcen curtin

21.            Collion curtin

22.            Hellen colky

23.            Tatiana Hernandez

24.            Joseph Gonzalez

25.            Doug Austin

26.            Hal feldmen

27.            Brian lang

28.            Billy stahl

29.            Jeffrey roth

30.            Adriana caontes

31.            Brian + kim bitner                        

Fellow SAS members

  1. Aitor echevarreta

  2. Laura Acosta

  3. Ansley castiniera

  4. Jessica Tamayo

  5. Nasynia jones

  6. Alix Hernandez

  7. Derrick chen

  8. Kimberly restrepo

  9. Jeffrey tjokroredjo

  10. Lilian rondon

  11. Genesis Munoz

  12. Maria robinson

  13. Anna rondon

  14. Roger salgado

Troop 20 scouts:  

    Marquis x Strickland Hanley fertil Geoff bendell  

Troop 20 adults:

    Jim happell Jon happell    

Troop 69 Scouts:

  1. Brad Hadley

  2. Andrew Willick

  3. Kyle kivi

  4. Dorian Rossiter

  5. Luke crouse

  6. Mathew rabin

  7. Tyler wansakul

  8. Jordan interian

  9. Jenna interian

  10. Steven lapworth

  11. Seth falkingham

  12. Luke falkingham

  13. Zachary mixon

  14. Joel de la cruz

  Troop 69 adults:

  1. Dale word

  Wayne Rossiter

  1. scott cousino

  2. Kimberley kivi

  3. patty rabin

  4. Valerie Gillespie

  5. Brenda Zelman

  6. dave hilstron

  7. bill broughton

  8. sonia and cesol de la cruz

  9. Annabelle interian

  10. Jorge interian

  11. rick mixon

  12. heather lung 

  13. matt crowe

  14. Andrew crowe

  15. lou Willick

  16. mark Hadley

Stephen andris, William Tuttle

Glenna and Tommy from Impact signs

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