Scout builds deck, benches for school’s lab

Taylor Schroeder and 60 other volunteers spent about six weeks transforming this area behind Valley Elementary into an open-air classroom with a deck and benches.

Contributed photo Taylor Schroeder and 60 other volunteers spent about six weeks transforming this area behind Valley Elementary into an open-air classroom with a deck and benches.

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By Christopher Magan, Staff Writer 1:34 PM Wednesday, July 8, 2009

BEAVERCREEK — Thanks to eighth-grader and Eagle Scout hopeful Taylor Schroeder, students at Valley Elementary have a more comfortable place to learn about their natural surroundings.

Schroeder, with the help of about 60 volunteers of all ages, constructed a deck and four eight-foot benches in Valley’s outdoor land laboratory as part of his efforts to become an Eagle Scout.

“I went there when I was in elementary school and I knew the principal (Lisa Walk) pretty well,” Schroeder said. “She said she really wanted an outdoor classroom put in the land lab.”

So Schroeder, with the help of other scouts and some adults, cleared brush and built the open air classroom space in about six weeks.

“It was a lot of work,” Schroeder said.

Materials cost about $1,100, which Schroeder raised through fundraising and donations from the school’s parent-teacher association.

Schroeder loves the outdoors and has been involved in Scouts since his family moved to Beavercreek in 2004.

“I really like being outside,” the 14-year-old said. “My dad grew up on a farm and he keeps me outside. I’m not the kind of person that stays in and plays video games.”

Schroeder is nearly finished with the requirements to receive the Eagle Scout designation, one of the Scouts highest honors. He expects to officially be named and Eagle Scout sometime next year after his paperwork is approved.

Scouting has taught him a lot about his hometown, Schroeder said. “It’s a way to help out the community and I meet a lot of interesting people,” he said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2342 or cmagan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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