Conservation Runs in David Family
Brothers are service leaders for school, hometown
Making the world around them a better place has never been a flimsy ideal for Bennett David '18 and William David '21.
Luckily for Asheville and Christ School, the David brothers live in their world.
Bennett and William were bringing awareness to conservation issues in their hometown long before they were Greenies. And the boys continue to share their commitment to service not only with each other and fellow students, but worldwide through the Facebook page "Scout Conservation Help Wanted."
"I would say we derived this from a long list of great mentors," Bennett said. "William and I feel like this is our way of paying them back."
Even in elementary school, Bennett and William were drawn to the preservation, protection, and restoration of nature. They just didn't know how much until discovering the joys of conservation through the Boy Scouts of America, and summer day camps at Asheville's North Carolina Arboretum.
Bennett's background in conservation has been well-documented.
Most notably, the senior won scouting's rarest award for conservation in 2016. Eligibility for a William T. Hornaday Silver Medal required the research and execution of four large-scale service projects, as well as ongoing promotion. For Bennett, those projects were Nest Boxes for Brown-headed Nuthatch birds, a Scout Pollinator Garden Challenge, Tire Recycling and River Cleanup, and Invasive Species Education, Prevention, and Plant Removal.
Work on the Hornaday projects has always been a cooperative effort between Bennett and William. Nothing has changed now that the younger brother could be on his way to earning a second Hornaday medal for the David family. Together, the brothers also offer tips to scout troops on projects and promotion through Facebook. Recent posts to "Scout Conservation Help Wanted" have come in from such far away states as Utah and Washington.
"Bennett and I have been taught by our family to focus on gratitude and to give back," William said.
"We developed the life habit of service through Boy Scouts and then Christ School further encouraged that through the strong focus on Servant Leadership and the Service Learning program."
Indeed, it is William who was entrusted by Director of Residential Life Isaac Rankin to come up with the service theme for this year's Leadership Challenge. William chose Riparian/Westlands Restoration Projects. Each grade level at Christ School takes part in the Leadership Challenge for two Wednesdays and two Saturdays per semester.
"It means a lot to me that Mr. Rankin had the confidence in me, and I really wanted to make sure he was happy with the job I did," William said. "Mr. Rankin has allowed me to attend all the projects. I am happy to help out. Our school is making a real contribution, and the conservation professionals we work with have been impressed with what our students have done."
