Oak Cliff Nature Preserve is a little more user friendly thanks to signs telling hikers which way to go.
Hannah Mercado, a Science and Engineering Magnet graduate, earned her Eagle Scout badge creating and installing the signs.
Mercado is among the first female Eagle Scouts in Oak Cliff. She joined Scouts BSA Troop 5, based at Kessler Park United Methodist Church, in February 2019. The group formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America began accepting girls the previous year.
She made two signs for the nature preserve. One is at the entrance, instructing pedestrians and cyclists where to begin. It wasn’t clear before that wheels and walkers should go opposite ways, she says.
Another sign marks the yellow trail because the map wasn’t clear enough, she says.
Mercado, who grew up in Kessler Plaza, hikes the park with her family. They use it to get in shape for adventurous vacations.
Before joining the scouts, she was a member of Adventure Crew.
Troop leader Laura Walsh says Mercado has packed in a lot of outdoors and camping skills since becoming a scout, “including a recent high-adventure trip to West Virginia.”
“She has also executed many hours of service to our community, and I could not be more proud of her,” Walsh says.
Mercado’s parents are Charles and Nora. Her 24-year-old brother, Isaiah, is also an Eagle Scout.
She recently began her freshman year at Austin College in Sherman, where her sister, Naomi, is a junior. Hannah is majoring in math and says she’s considering careers as a quantitative analyst or an actuary.
