BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

A new tune at Willow Waterhole

By Jason Deng, age 16 | April 27, 2023

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SAY CELLO TO NATURE Bellaire High School junior Amanda Huttenbach’s Eagle Scout project included installing signs with QR codes at Willow Waterhole; when scanned, these codes provide access to classical music. On the right is one of the two larger signs that Huttenbach installed for her Eagle Scout project.

Amanda didn’t want to be the only one in her family who didn’t have one. Her dad and brother had already gotten their Eagle Scout Badges, and now it came time for her to get hers.

After starting out as a Boy Scout in sixth grade, junior Amanda Huttenbach finally achieved her Eagle Scout Badge after a month-long project to bring classical music and nature together. Inspired by QR codes of musical playlists along the Buffalo Bayou, Huttenbach wanted to do the same at Willow Waterhole.

“I decided that for my project I was going to attach ten small signs to benches and two large signs, one of which was stuck on a board and the other was bolted to a pole that we cemented in the ground,” Huttenbach said. “You can scan the signs, and they’ll take you to a list of different playlists of classical music played by the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra.”

Though the orchestra only allowed certain pieces to be used for her project, Huttenbach made the most of what she was given, eventually selecting 10 of the pieces for her playlist. Huttenbach said she chose this project for the personal significance it had.

“I really like classical music and I feel like a lot of people don't like to listen to it,” Huttenbach said. “I didn't want to do something that everybody else does, and this is something more personal to me. With this, I can share my passion with others while giving them access to classical music.”

With over 40 volunteers and 141 cumulative service hours from her project, Huttenbach couldn’t be happier with the result. Thanks to the large turnout, Huttenbach was able to direct volunteers to not only install the signs, but also plant native flowers and clean up the park.

“My most memorable moment was after we were done, looking around and seeing all the signs, and seeing people test them out on their phones,” Huttenbach said. “It was really worth the effort to see how much people enjoyed using the signs and listening to the music.”

Editor’s note: Jason Deng is a reporter for our online blog School Buzz, where this article was originally published.

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