Forty one friends, fellow Scouts and family members joined Eagle Scout Candidate Gabriel Seiglie in helping him complete his Eagle Scout project to expand the student garden at St. John Neumann Catholic School in Kendall.
Science teacher Maria Calvo installed a small student garden in the 2009-10 school year. Due to a successful first year and growing interest from other grade levels, Calvo began speaking of her vision to expand the garden.
Seiglie, one of her middle school students, saw the opportunity and developed a plan to enlarge the garden as part of his requirements to become an Eagle Scout. Through donations from family and friends, as well as discounts from local businesses such as Shell Lumber, he was able to acquire the materials for his project that took 306 hours to complete.
The garden now is large enough for all grade levels to use. It has four additional planter boxes, six ladder trellises, four hanging planters, a meditation area, several plant and herb pots, a rain collection barrel, and a wooden arbor to the garden. The student garden will be used by all grade levels.
Calvo was overjoyed that her joint vision shared with Seiglie has become a reality. The students now are planning which plants are going to be planted, including fruits, vegetables, herbs, and a variety of flowering plants as part of the science curriculum.
Boy Scout Troop 616 is chartered to St. John Neumann Catholic Church at 12125 SW 107 Ave in Kendall.
