9/11 Memorial Eagle Project

My Eagle Scout Project was carried out on the dates November 4th through November 6th. In my project I accomplished many of my own set goals and goals set by the principal and the school board. The project included revitalizing the front of Howard C. Johnson Elementary School. And in doing this task, many people were impressed by the results. We repainted the sign with a high end, fusion plastic spray paint above the entrance of the school reading “Howard C. Johnson School” without taking the sign down. We had originally planned on taking down the sign, but the day before the project date we found out that we were not able to take the sign down due to a chemical problem. We added highly nitrated Scotts turf builder soil to the front of the school, concentrating on the areas that were no longer nice dirt but had turned into a sandy mess. Then in the soil we spread by hand Premium Jackson Grass Seed. Then to follow up we watered the whole area down so it would grow nice and full. We also removed the old Twin Towers that had overgrown since they were originally planted as small shrubs and now split into four. We then transplanted the shrubs to the front right corner of the school’s entrance and staked them down to make sure that they would not move. Around the transplanted shrubs we added double cut black mulch, the kale, which is a cabbage looking perennial, along with two white mums. We took down the two thorn bushes as was asked of us, and then found another one that was originally overlooked so just to be safe we also removed it. On day 2 of the project I tripped over a tree stump, and finding it a possible hazard in the future for not only us, but for the children and parents at the school we removed that as well. On day 3 of the project an adult tripped over another tree stump that we had not noticed and we removed it from the ground as well. We found a tree that was growing on a slant towards the school and cleared it with the principal that it would be okay to remove it. Upon getting his permission we removed the tree as well to stop it from growing into the building eventually. We made sure we weeded out all of the bushes and areas along the side of the school so that we can lay down a nice layer of mulch. We removed the two overgrown ferns from the center of the memorial site and moved them to both the right and the left upper corners of the front of the school to make them symmetrical. From the center memorial site we also weeded, and planted three different mums. I planted the one red mum behind the new Twin Towers and two yellow mums in front of the Twin Towers. We added small wooden fencing around the memorial site and in between the gaps were the before mentioned yellow mums. We got genetically altered shrubs called Sky Pencils for the new Twin Towers. I chose these particular plants because they will not split and become the Four Towers, the base of the shrub will stay round, and the tower will not grow taller than 8-9 feet. To add to these, like most shrubs they grow straight up and they will look like tall sky scrapers in this case. We used a brass polish to clean off the plaque of the memorial so you can now read what it says, which could not be done before. We trimmed the top of the tree behind the memorial site using a saw pulley system, Mr. Lyons brought to the site so that everything would look proportional, and added to that the tree is now no longer hiding the flag pole behind the tree. We planted the leftover mums symmetrically, two on the sides of the school and other various ferns in between, and then on the sides of the two mums as well. We added the black mulch under all plants new and old. Then, along the sides of the school we made a curvy bed of mulch that went under all of the plants, creating a nice scene. We made sure that the stakes holding up the transferred Twin Towers were in good order to ensure they would not fall down in case of high winds or strong storms. We filled in all the various holes created by removal of the trees, thorn bushes, and the stumps. Then in the new soiled areas we added grass seed so that the area will look flush and blend in with the areas that had already been worked on. We made sure to clean up each day to ensure cleanliness. We power washed the sidewalks at the end of the last day to clean off the sidewalks because the tree removed had berries on it, and when it was removed the berries fell over the sidewalks and the berries were then stepped on. This created such a huge mess that we had to do something about it. We had the principal show up on the last day to look over our work, and take pictures, and give his remarks on the job that had been done. We also invited the mayor of Jackson Township, Michael Reina to show up to take pictures as well as looking over the work that had been done. We added red mums around the red brinks in front of the flag pole. We put ferns around both sides of the flag pole, and a yellow mum behind the flag pole. Then, after all of those plants were in place we added black mulch, connecting all of them all the way around. The difference from my original plan to what actually happened in the project included that the panther paw idea was not used as well as the giant panther logos as newly requested by the school board. Sponsors changed and amounts and materials varied which can be seen in the supply chart. Weather, the number of volunteers, and the supplies available for each day changed how much work got done and when we would do each task, as seen above. We could not take down the sign above the school like previously planned to paint it because we found a chemical problem. The safety goggles were not donated; they were brought by participants and were not used by many people but were onsite for safety reasons.