Members of Boy Scout Troop No. 507 were busy planting, refurbishing and completing their Eagle Scout Service projects over Veterans Day weekend.
La Cañada High School junior William Henderson commemorated the installation of a garden and sprinkler system at the Harambee Christian Family Center in Pasadena with a flag ceremony this past Saturday. Henderson began planning the project in April and oversaw the work over the past few weeks.
Under Henderson’s direction, fellow scouts transformed a nondescript concrete slab into a well-manicured outdoor teaching space.
They removed an old picnic table and six inches of dirt, which they replaced with six inches of fresh topsoil, roses, lantanas and Mexican sage, Henderson said. They also planted two crepe trees, and set up four tables where students can sit.
“Now there’s a place for people to sit and it improves the general vibe of the area,” Henderson said. “I felt it was really meaningful, and that’s what an Eagle Project should look like.”
To complete the project, Henderson raised about $6,000 at a pair of fundraisers, including one at Doña Maria Restaurant and another online on gofundme.com. What he enjoyed most, he said, was having the opportunity to direct the work.
“The way our Eagle projects work is the Eagle Scout … cannot do the actual labor,” Henderson said. “I had a board with all the steps to my project and I had to instruct people how to do it, in what order, what needed to be done — really take a leadership role. I did enjoy it; it’s a lot harder being in that role, because I’m so used to taking orders.”
Henderson said he received positive feedback from the Harambee staff: “They really enjoyed it, and [Executive Director] Harlan Redmond said he loves how it looks now.”
In LCF, Cameron Carey completed his Eagle Scout Project at St. Bede the Venerable School. He surpervised about 30 Scouts as they sanded and repainted several benches in need of repair. The scouts also planted rose bushes around the Pope John Paul II statue in the northeast corner of the campus.
“I really appreciate the help from everyone who came to support me on my project,” Carey said.
— Mirjam Swanson
and Andrew Kruse
