Eagle Scout Project Creating Outdoor Libertyville HS Classroom

LIBERTYVILLE, IL — A Libertyville High School student and member of Boy Scout Troop 72 received permission to restore a woodland area of the high school's campus. According to The Daily Herald, village and school officials gave the go ahead for LHS sophomore and Eagle Scout candidate Jacob Short to proceed with the project along Route 176, just south of where the school's $21.5 million aquatic center is under construction. The Daily Herald said the restoration project also includes installing wooden benches and a path to create an outdoor classroom available for biology and environmental science students, and other classes, according to Principal Thomas Koulentes.

In addition, Short and volunteers are removing invasive plants, including buck thorn, to improve the area for native trees and plants, the news report said.

Short received 4-0 approval from the village's appearance review commission in March, followed by the village board waiving more than $300 in fees for the project. Short is also assisted by Mike Graham, senior vice president of Landscape Concepts Management, who according to The Daily Herald has guided other would-be Eagle Scouts through projects.