Miranda Pederson/Daily News Charles Spice, 17, fills a wheel barrel with mulch for the newly planted trees at Hill's Bark Park. Spice, from Boy Scout Troop 79, worked towards his Eagle Scout badge Saturday with a community project to plant trees and build benches at Hill's Bark Park.

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Charles Spice’s bent for community service runs in the family, and it was on display Saturday.

Spice, a 17-year old senior at Bowling Green High School, led his fellow Boy Scouts in Troop 79 in a community service project Saturday at Hills’ Bark Park, the section of H.P. Thomas Park for dogs, in an effort to earn the honor of Eagle Scout.

On a cold, rainy morning, Spice and the other scouts planted a group of sugar maple and swamp oak trees throughout the park, and set concrete benches at various points to let pet owners rest while their dogs roam about.

“This has gone by much faster than I thought,” Spice said during a break Saturday morning. “We will probably have the whole thing finished today.”

It took several months for Spice to plan and develop the service project, getting help from the Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Department along the way.

With the completion of this project, Spice will have earned the minimum 21 merit badges necessary to attain the rank of Eagle Scout.

It should not come as a surprise that the Boy Scouts have nurtured Spice’s development - his father, Tim, was a Boy Scout and his grandfather, Bill, spent a lifetime in scouting, retiring as National Director of High Adventure and acting as director of Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

Currently on active duty with his Army Reserve unit in Oklahoma, Tim Spice was unable to make it to the Bark Park on Saturday, but Bill Spice lent a helping hand with his grandson’s project, driving from his home in Evansville, Ind.

“The purpose of the Eagle service project is to find a project that can benefit the community ... the community here will benefit from this effort,” Bill Spice said.

Bill Spice spent a 40-year career in scouting traveling across the country as a consultant to several Boy Scout councils.

While working in northern Indiana, he helped conceive of the now-common practice of Cub Scout troops selling popcorn to raise funds for activities.

“Over 40 years, I’ve been able to see so many young people develop character, self-reliance and leadership skills,” he said. “I was able to see how scouting can change the lives of kids.”

Charles Spice’s mother, Patty, has supported her son’s efforts since he first joined the Cub Scouts nearly 12 years ago.

“There have been a lot of camping trips in that time,” she said.

Given his family’s history, it would likely have been difficult for Charles to avoid growing up in the Boy Scouts.

Charles, however, said the friends he grew up with over the years in scout troops helped him develop his interest in scouting.

“It’s a good place to learn how to be responsible and trustworthy,” said Charles, who after graduating from BGHS plans to go to Western Kentucky University to study mechanical engineering. “It teaches you how to get along with everybody.”

Charles said he is also looking forward to taking his dog, Dexter, out to the Bark Park to show him the finished project.