Whiz Kid: Eagle Scout Coltan Parker Makes His Garden Grow

Coltan Parker is a trooper. Literally.

Since joining the Cub Scouts in first grade, the Montgomery resident knew he wanted to continue with the program.

“As I got older I stuck with it and got more involved,” he said.

In sixth grade, he became a Boy Scout, and eventually set his sights on becoming an Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable.

The Oswego High School senior was able to achieve that rank this summer, after carrying out out an Eagle Scout leadership service project.

In the spring of 2010, Parker got the OK from the Oswego High School principal to install a garden on the school property.

He sought out donations of mums, tall grass and daffodils from area nurseries, as well as lumber and hardware, and enlisted his fellow troop members, OHS students and his family to help with plantings and make benches for the garden.

“Around 280 hours of collected work went into it,” Parker said. “It was a pretty good sized project.”

It also helped him secure his rank as an Eagle Scout.

“I’m really, really happy to have made it this far,” Parker said. “It’s a big honor and takes a lot of work and a lot of patience and diligence to get this far and pull it off.”

His mother, Eberly Parker, lauds her son’s determination.

“I’m very proud of how hard he worked at obtaining what he wanted,” she said.

She paid a visit to the garden this past spring.

“I went there to see the daffodils and they were all up,” she said. “It was really cool.”

Parker is happy he decided to continue with scouting.

“You get to make a lot of really good friends and do lots of cool things together,” he said. “There are lot of opportunities to grow and see a lot of the world you wouldn’t have seen otherwise.”

Parker will reveive his Eagle Scout award on Nov. 6 at the Neighborhood Church of the Brethren, 153 Boulder Hill Pass.

Do you know a Whiz Kid? Send your nominations to editor Andre Salles at andre.salles@patch.com.