Marblehead High School senior and Boy Scout Tyler Earp raised more than $100,000 for his Eagle Scout project to revitalize the school’s outdoor classroom area by installing a greenhouse.
The updated outdoor space contains a greenhouse, two new raised plant beds, and native and pollinator plant species that will remove weeds and invasive plants.
Earp said as a kid, he would go to his grandparents’ house and help them in the garden, where he found his love for gardening and preserving nature.
“I still go there to this day and help them out. So I was like, it would be nice to incorporate something with gardening plants into the school,” he said.
Eagle Scout candidates must complete a project that demonstrates leadership skills while also benefiting the community.
Earp said he raised the money in various ways, including standing outside of Shubie’s and Crosby’s, holding a silent auction, and having the superintendent send an email blast to everyone in the school district.
“Everyone in the town has always been willing to help me out,” Earp said. “So that’s fantastic, that we have such community support.”
He said Groom Construction and Tucker Architecture donated their time and expertise to help him with his project.
“They helped immensely. That was very, very generous of them,” he said.
Earp said he was able to see the construction of the greenhouse from the window of his math class and was excited to see the progress every day.
He said he is currently working with the school to install utilities in the greenhouse, and added that it should be ready for student use by the fall.
At the Select Board’s June 26 meeting, Earp presented his project to the board.
“$100,000 that’s quite phenomenal,” Board Chair Erin Noonan said. “It’s a lot of work, so it’s great to see it come to fruition.”
The board unanimously approved Earp’s request for the use of Abbot Hall for his Eagle Scout Court of Honor in August.
