A service project proposed by a lone Eagle Scout in Bridgeport has won city funding and added a new dimension to one of the city's most popular promenades.

Walkers along St. Mary's by-the-Sea now can pause to study a series of signs explaining the area's history and ecology that were conceived, designed and installed by 17-year-old Colin Nevins and friends.

Nevins, who lives in the Black Rock neighborhood near St. Mary's, originally thought to solicit sponsorships to pay for the signs. But when he took his idea to city park officials, they balked at allowing sponsor names in a public park. Instead they gave $1,100 to fund the signs.

Nevins brainstormed ideas for the signs with a group of friends. Laminated, with color illustrations, they are of the type found at nature preserves.

Overlooking Long Island Sound, they contain information about salt marshes, native fish and bird species, as well as local landmarks like the Fayerweather Island and Penfield lighthouses that bracket the St. Mary's walkway.

Nevins is a member of Boy Scout Troop 38