Liam Welge, 14, completes Eagle Scout project with Allegheny Land Trust

Liam Welge is about four years ahead of schedule – and some even say he’s well beyond his years.

Welge, 14, completed a project months in the making that will soon earn him the Boy Scouts of America’s coveted Eagle Scout rank.

On March 20, Welge and a crew of 26 others blazed a new, quarter-mile trail on property owned by the Allegheny Land Trust known as Simmon’s Woods on Scaife Road in Sewickley Heights. The trail is complete with a 16-foot wooden bridge that crosses a stream.

Most scouts don’t reach Eagle Scout status until they are 17 or 18, said Guido Girimonti, land manager at Allegheny Land Trust. Girimonti earned his Eagle Scout ranking as a teen.

“I thought he was 16 or 17 the way he handled himself,” Girimonti said.

Girimonti said Welge was extremely motivated to get the project done and organized.

“He came to me and said ‘this is what I want to do.’ It was well-planned and he covered every base,” he said.

Welge said he began planning the project in late summer of 2020 or early fall. He said he chose that property because it would be a benefit to the people who live in the area who have expressed interest in having a walking path in the woods.

Caitlin Seiler, ALT’s director of stewardship and volunteers, said Welge’s project went “well beyond” typical Eagle Scout projects. Eventually, Welge’s path will connect to a larger network of trails in the area. She said the organization appreciated his initiative.

“We had not considered doing the work he presented to us. It was completely his own project,” she said.

Welge just thought it would be great for the community.

“I think it’ll have a great benefit,” he said.

The benefit won’t just be limited to the people who live around the path, but the animals, too. Part of the project included clearing out invasive plants to improve the ecology.

“He doesn’t do anything small,” said Jodie Welge, the teen’s mother. She mentioned Welge’s sweater, book and food drives he’s done in the past – which have resulted in big turnouts.

“It’s important to give back to the community,” she said. “So one of the ways to give back is by helping others. My mom passed that to me and I’m trying to instill that in Liam.”

Liam Welge became a Cub Scout in the third grade. By fifth grade, he moved on to the Boy Scouts of America. He said now that he has the Eagle Scout project completed, he can work toward earning all of the BSA’s 135 merit badges.

“I have 84 so far,” he said.

He hopes his experience as a scout will serve him well into the future; he wants to someday work for the United States Naval Academy and be fighter jet pilot.

He’s on his way. He works at the Pittsburgh Soaring Association in Glyde and plans to a student certificate in order to solo flying glider planes.

“The season starts up again next month,” he said.