The road to Eagle Scout for a Pearland youngster has taken a detour through a marsh on the eroding shoreline of Galveston Bay.
Ryan Rinhart had done his research and laid out the logistics of his project, which was a major marsh restoration project in Galveston Bay near Smith Point. The property in question is privately owned and is part of the Galveston Bay Foundation’s Living Shorelines Program, which is designed to assist landowners in protecting and restoring shorelines on their properties.
On August 1, Rinhart’s plans came to fruition as 50 volunteers gathered to plant smooth cordgrass to prevent further shoreline erosion on Tim White’s property. The stalks of cordgrass planted numbered in the thousands, but the 15-year-old was undaunted by the challenge.
This was not Rinhart’s first planting experience. The Scout had participated with three other Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF) plantings prior to the one he planned and executed. He anticipates that his project will result in the same marsh restoration result as the previous GBR projects on which he worked.
Scouting, according to Rinhart, has allowed him to hone his leadership skills and given him an appreciation for the environment.
To take his project one step further, before and after pictures of a shoreline showing the difference the planting have made could, if supplied to a postcard printing company, grow support for shoreline restoration.
