Eagle Scout Project Brings Outdoor Classroom To D161 School

FRANKFORT, IL — For her Eagle Scout project, former Dr. Julian Rogus School student Lily Bonovich decided to create an outdoor classroom. When Bonovich was a student at Rogus, she remembers enjoying when they would have class outside, according to a release from the District.

“I loved to go outside and to have class outside,” Bonovich said in a release. “But the only problem with it was that you were on the hot black top, or in the grass, or on the concrete.”

Bonovich, now a 16-year-old Lincoln-Way East junior, is a member of Scouting America Troop 732 in Frankfort.

“With Rogus having that enclosed courtyard, I thought it would be great to have a nature setting for a seating area,” said Bonovich.

She began brainstorming Eagle Scout project ideas about a year and a half ago before settling on creating an outdoor classroom space at Rogus, according to a release. She presented her idea to Principal Colin Bradley in 2023 to get approval, then presented it to her Boy Scouts of America Council to get their green light.

The building for the project began in June; and it took about a month to make the table and benches, and to paint and seal the 12 mushroom stools.

“Lily's Eagle Scout Project has had an immediate impact on the usability of our outdoor green space. Classes have already enjoyed outdoor instruction with her functional and fun tables and seating,” Bradley said in a release. “This was a wonderful idea, and the culmination far exceeded our expectations. We look forward to using this space for many years to come!”

Bonovich, who lives in Tinley Park, began her Scouting career in second grade as a Girl Scout. When the Boy Scouts of America began accepting girls into the program in 2019, she participated in both for two years before her Girl Scout troop disbanded during the COVID-19 pandemic. She then decided to focus on BSA, according to a release.

“I think having that accomplishment of Eagle Scout would be amazing because it shows the leadership that I was able to give and shows that I was able to lead a team to get a project like this done,” said Bonovich. “Seeing my friends get Eagle, they were my role models, and now with me getting Eagle, I hope to be like that to younger Scouts like they were to me.”

Bonovich, who comes from a Scouting family, will become the third local girl to become an Eagle Scout, the District said. She has earned 47 badges and six awards, and has traveled all over the country, from West Virginia to Colorado to Florida for Scouting jamborees and leadership conferences.

She is also a member of the Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s National Honor Society, as well as Venturing, a Scouting program that focuses on adventure, training, leadership, and personal growth. She was recently elected Vice-Chief of Programming for the OA Lodge, where she will be responsible for planning more than a half dozen major events for hundreds of participants.