Lance Kennedy freely admits his Eagle Scout project isn’t the most glamorous thing, but he believes it’s something that will help solve a problem and improve a public amenity.

On Sunday afternoon, the Oxford High School senior, along with some fellow members of Boy Scout Troop 366, placed seven dog waste bag dispensers along the Polly Ann Trail. Each of them holds about 500 biodegradable bags for collecting and disposing of canine excrement.

“The Polly Ann Trail is something that is really embedded in our community and I wanted to make it better,” said Kennedy, who currently holds the rank of Life Scout.

The 16.9-mile non-motorized, recreational trail runs through Addison, Oxford and Orion townships, including the villages of Leonard and Oxford. It’s used by walkers, hikers, runners, cyclists and equestrians.

Kennedy oversaw construction of the wooden containers on March 3, then supervised their installation. Dispensers were affixed to wooden posts above trash cans at seven spots along the trail.

In Oxford, the dispensers can be found where the trail intersects Pleasant St., Drahner Rd., Burdick St. and Louck St. In Orion, they are located at Indianwood and Clarkston roads and where the trail runs behind the township library.

“This is fabulous,” said Trail Manager Linda Moran. “We’ve needed this forever. Hopefully, we can get more people to use (these bags) and we’ll have less material (littering) the trail.”

According to Moran, people’s failure to clean up after their canines is a big problem on the trail, especially in areas that are more heavily used such as the pedestrian bridge over M-24, the asphalt sections and the stretch between Joslyn and Clarkston roads.

For trail users, encountering fecal matter is “unsightly” and “smelly,” the manager said, while for other animals, it poses a health risk because dogs can “carry diseases.”

Moran hopes people who walk their dogs will either carry their own bags or use the free ones in Kennedy’s dispensers to help make the trail “a little more sanitary and a little more pleasant.”

“There’s no excuse not to use them,” she said.

Going forward, Moran will ensure the dispensers remain stocked when she hits the trail twice a week to empty the trash cans.

As a sidenote, Moran said biodegradable bags are being used because “we don’t want to add to the plastic waste” in landfills. “That is a bonus,” she said.

Kennedy is no stranger to the trail. He enjoys biking and walking on it.

“I grew up on it and every time I go there, I see new faces,” he said.

He said he also appreciates the trail’s “historic value” given it was once a railroad corridor. Trains, not pedestrians, traveled on the Polly Ann from the early 1880s until 1984.

Kennedy has wanted to become an Eagle Scout – the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America program – since his days as a student at Daniel Axford and Oxford elementary schools.

“Now, I’m almost there,” he said.

Troop 366 has had 39 of its members achieve the Eagle rank since 1988.

Kennedy is glad he stuck with scouting. He’s loved every minute from the moment he joined as a first-grader

“I like what (scouting) stands for,” he said. “I treasure all of the experiences I’ve had leading and being with my friends and helping (younger) scouts (by) providing (them with) guidance,” he said.

Kennedy said scouting has “definitely made me a better leader.” He’s held leadership positions in Troop 366 ever since the sixth grade. He’s currently junior assistant scoutmaster.

“That’s as close as I can get to assistant scoutmaster without being an actual adult,” he said.

Above all, Kennedy appreciates how scouting has taught him the value of true friendship and the importance of surrounding himself with people he can “trust and respect.”

When he’s not busy with troop activities, Kennedy plays trombone in the high school’s marching, jazz and pit bands.

After graduation, he plans to attend either Wayne State University or Purdue University. He’s been accepted to both and is currently trying to choose between them.

“It’s been the most difficult decision of my life,” he said.

Whichever school he attends, he plans to pursue a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.

“I would like to (someday) work in a hospital,” Kennedy said.

He said he chose becoming a pharmacist because the profession offers both stability and flexibility.

“I can move anywhere and there will be some kind of pharmacy (to work at),” Kennedy said. “There’s a CVS everywhere.”