Max Szymanski had help building owl boxes and raptor perches for his Eagle Scout project.
When Max Szymanski had to select a Eagle Scout project with Troop 223, his thoughtful, and necessary project, was building predatory purchases and owl boxes.
Szymanski, 15, took an agriculture and environment class when he was at Paul Revere Middle School. He explained, “The class covered many different optics including natural resource management, farming practices, and gardening.”
Another topic the class covered was environmental sustainability and growing food. When he spoke to his middle school teacher Carrie Robertson, they discussed problems with growing food, which included insects and rodents, which made sustainability without pesticides a challenge.
“I talked to my teacher about some natural solutions, and we came up with building predatory perches,” Szymanski said.
In the process of developing his project, the Palisades Fire happened in January 2025 and damaged his home, school and neighborhood.
“The fire burned more than 20,000 acres of the Santa Monica Mountains, eradicating a large habitat for birds,” Szymanski said. “This inspired me to expand the project by building four owl boxes to shelter owls that were living in the Santa Monica Mountains.”
Max Szymanski had help placing a raptor pole in the Revere garden.
Circling the News asked if the birds had discovered the habitats. “There have been a number of bird sightings in the garden [at Revere], including three new Cooper Hawk sightings within the first month of the perches being installed,” Szymanski said, and added that there has been reports of nighttime owl activity, and at least seven red-tailed hawk fly-overs.
Szymanski said that “Predatory perches usually show bird activity within a few weeks of installation, which aligns with the increased raptor activity during this period. Owl activity was measured later in the measuring period, consistent with owl behavior, as owls are very cautious when establishing new nesting sites.”
In addition to helping displaced birds, Robertson, Revere’s agriculture teacher, is able use the sites to teach students about farming as they observe a balanced ecosystem and predator-prey relationships.
A new owl box is placed and ready for occupancy at the Revere Garden.