To help the Dorothy Visser Senior Center revamp its front porch, a local Boy Scout recently gathered his friends to put together two planters for his Eagle Scout project, as well as set up a seating area with a table and chairs.
Conner Brown, a 16-year-old sophomore at San Juan Hills High School, and his family have had a history of helping at San Clemente’s senior center, as they participated in the Meals on Wheels program in previous years. When Brown approached Beth Apodaca, director of the senior center with Age Well Senior Services, and asked if he could orient his project around the senior center, she was on board.
She said that the senior center has wanted to beautify the front space for years after putting up a gate to stop homeless people from residing and urinating in the area.
“(The Browns) had a connection here, and so they made a reach to see if they could do (the project),” she said. “We were going through a bunch of ideas, and I said, ‘Ever since we had the homeless issue out there, that place has never been made pretty again.’ ”
That discussion got the project going.
“They said that their area out front was lacking things, so we thought planters would work well,” Brown said. “So then, I researched designs for the planters, and we just went from there and made it.”
Brown had limited experience with constructing projects other than his days helping his older brother do his own Eagle Scout project. So much of what he experienced during the roughly six-month process was new.
The steps included researching the best design and materials, measuring the space where they’d put the two boxes, and then constructing all the sides, ensuring there was drainage in both, painting, rubberizing the inside, and filling them with dirt and the succulents.
His father, Jess Brown, served as a “coach” figure throughout. As the elder Brown has a background in woodworking, he helped his teen figure out the construction plan through making mistakes and correcting them together.
“I’m really just a sounding board and a coach and making sure that they’re following the safety protocols and things like that,” Jess said.
Conner said that what he developed most during the project was leadership skills.
“I had to have my friends over to build the planters and sort of instruct them on how to do it,” he said. “(That really helped) with leadership skills and just being a leader in general. I also learned how to do screwing, for like nails, and painting.”
After presenting the finished product to the senior center, he said he felt happy, and it felt like a “real accomplishment” after a half-year’s worth of work.
In addition to the planters, Apodaca said, the center is working to redo the fountain and make the area a comforting place for seniors to enjoy.
“Out there, it’s great, because a lot of seniors would like to sit out there and have a cup of coffee,” she said. “It’s a place to sit and wait for a class, or to visit one of our counselors.”
Jess said that few things were more satisfying as a parent than to see his son follow through with the project as Conner’s older brother did, knowing the two have worked hard at being Boy Scouts for more than 10 years.
“There’s a reason why there’s a very low percentage of Cub Scouts that become Eagle Scouts, because it’s a haul,” said Jess. “But you learn a lot (of skills) and volunteer a lot, and it’s very worth the investment they made.”
Conner is currently working on all the paperwork necessary for his application to be an Eagle Scout and expects the process to be completed in the next four or five months. Regardless of the wait, he is looking forward to eventually receiving his certificate, and he is also enjoying that he doesn’t need to do any more significant projects after putting so much time and energy into the planters.
Now, he can focus more on school and playing lacrosse, he said.
Earning the distinction of Eagle Scout is “really important,” Conner added, as it reflects the work he’s put into being a Scout since he joined the Cub Scouts around nine years ago.
“It’s really nice to think about all the things I’ve learned along the way and the skills that I’ve learned from all the merit badges and campouts that I’ve done,” he said.
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