A garden that grows community, too: Boy Scouts find chance to help through project

Hank Henderson with his Boy Scout Troop 34 working to raise funds for fencing and shade trees for the Killona Community Garden.

Hank Henderson was looking for an Eagle Scout project and found one with the Killona Community Center.

“I was looking for an Eagle Scout project and the center was asking for help with their garden,” said the Des Allemands resident. “I thought it would be a great opportunity.”

It’s no small feat for a 14-year-old who likes doing community service and connected with the center on the project about two months ago.

Henderson is working on raising the funds for materials to build a fence for what will soon become the center’s community garden in Killona. His Eagle Scout project will involve building a fence around 20 feet by 20 feet to protect the area, which includes elevated garden boxes.

The project also calls for planting some shade trees and recycling some old tires into art, he said. Children will paint them for decoration.

“This garden space will serve as a focal point for the community, bringing residents together for a purpose and beautifying the area,” Henderson said of the work.

Henderson and his Boy Scout Troop 34 will do the job and they understand it will take work and two to three weeks to get done.

“Scouts is built on helping others and being kind,” Henderson said. “We like to go out and do service projects for other people.”

In fact, he and his father recently returned from a mission trip to Panama City, Fla., where they helped residents clean up after the devastating Hurricane Michael tore into the area.

“I really like this kind of community service … helping people in a much worse situation than me,” he said. “We wouldn’t progress in ourselves and our community if we all kept to ourselves. We wouldn’t be able to progress as fast or efficiently. Working as a team helps to keep the engine running.”

To afford the materials for the fence and trees, Henderson started a gofundme account at https://www.gofundme.com/kur55y-killona-
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