An Eagle Project is a major community service undertaking that uses a teen’s organizational and leadership skills, as well as physical abilities. Every project must be approved by the scout’s troop leaders, as well as his council, and it is critical to get that approval before any work is begun.

The national scout organization publishes formal Eagle scout materials and guidelines, but you should be aware that many troops have their own preferences.

You can contest their decisions, of course, and the national council will back you on it. But here's the thing: It's a rare teenager who's eager to cause dissension in his troop over, you know, planter boxes.

It's helpful to glance over lists of sample Eagle projects, but what's even more important is for your son to look at the types of projects his troop's Eagle Scouts have completed. If no one has done a specific type of project, it may be because those troop leaders, fellow scouts and their parents don’t view them as good options, for whatever reason. It's best to know that before your son invests a lot of time in researching possibilities. Here are several areas in which differences arise:

Type of Project: Some troops prefer projects of lasting significance, so they are more likely to encourage and support Eagle projects that involve semi-permanent or permanent structural work - building benches, for example,or clearing trail heads. Others approve event-type projects, such as backpack drives, a youth carnival or flag retirement ceremony.

Some allow teens to take over an existing event, so organizing a youth group’s Halloween haunted house becomes an Eagle project every year, while another group might turn up their noses, saying the bulk of such a project – its organizational aspects – has already been done by someone else.

Funding Issues: Some troops - and when I say "troops," I mean troop leaders, fellow scouts and/or their parents - expect their scouts to help raise or source the funds for a project. Again, this is an issue on which the national council offers guidelines, but scout troops have long institutional memories ("But that's how we've always done it!") and your son's peer group - and your peer group of troop parents - can be a judgmental bunch.

Hours: Some troops have very specific expectations about hours expended and those expectations run the gamut. Some say it explicitly: 40 hours for the Eagle applicant, for example, and another 50 hours spread out over at least five other scouts, whose work is supervised by the prospective Eagle. Others simply specify a "major project" that involves "leadership," without stipulating specific hours or manpower. See above for the "national council says" vs. "keeping the peace" argument.

Location, Location, Location: Some troops prefer projects done within the scout’s own community. Others, particularly in affluent areas, prefer projects done in areas of greater need.

The Binder: But the one area where every council agrees is in the creation of the Eagle project binder. Every document, every sketch, every photograph and journal entry goes into that binder, so make sure your son jots down every phone call he makes and every hour he or one of his worker bees spends on the project.