If you’ve been to Leigh Farm Park lately, you may have noticed some impressive new additions to our camp circles and picnic area! These new benches and picnic tables are the handiwork of longtime Homeschool in the Wild camper and current CIT Sarah Walker, who generously made them for us as her Eagle Scout project. This month, we’re catching up with Sarah to celebrate her accomplishments, generosity, and love of nature!
“PWC’s Homeschool in the Wild program taught me a plethora of outdoor skills,” Sarah says, including fire-starting, building survival shelters, finding food and water in the wilderness, and identifying local flora and fauna. “When Scouts BSA welcomed girls into its ranks in 2019, my PWC training made me feel very confident outdoors and eager to join. My PWC skills have enhanced my Scout skills and vice versa.”
Our staff were delighted when Sarah approached us with the idea of using her Eagle Scout project to benefit PWC. “My Eagle Scout project was dedicated to PWC,” she says, “as a thank-you for the many years of outdoor experience they’ve given me.” After several meetings with Executive Director Karen McCall, Sarah decided to build new seating for our camp circles at Leigh Farm Park. She also built new picnic tables for the picnic area near our Amphitheater. These included a much needed wheelchair-accessible table, the first of its kind in Leigh Farm Park.
In total, Sarah built 3 tables and 13 benches for us - and her hard work has already paid off. Since they were installed earlier this year, we’ve already seen visitors to Leigh Farm Park take advantage of the new accessible picnic table. And the new benches have been a hot commodity among our homeschool and intersession campers this spring!
In addition to being a Scout, Sarah is still an active part of PWC’s camp programs. “Currently,” she says, “I am serving as a CIT and passing down my knowledge and delight in the outdoors to younger generations of Piedmont campers. My goal is to give them the same enriching experience that I received and help them feel sure of their own skills in the wilderness.”
Sarah, we are so excited for you to get your well-deserved Eagle! We are so grateful for all the ways you go above and beyond to help others connect with nature. Congratulations and thank you!
