Eagle Scout project adds new tables, benches at Cooper

Students at Cooper Elementary School will have a pleasant outdoor space for activities, thanks to Bella Vista resident Nate Coleman’s Eagle Scout project.

Coleman, a member of Venture Crew 3410, which is sponsored by American Legion Post 341 of Bella Vista, was offi cially thanked Friday, Sept. 6, by the students during their biweekly roundup for building five sets of tables and benches for the school’s courtyard area.

Coleman, 16, along with a group of approximately 25 volunteers, built the tables and benches this past summer and on Saturdays.

Materials for the project were donated by AERT of Springdale, and are made of a composite material of sawdust and recycled milk jugs, said Katherine Auld, Nate’s mother and his crew leader.

Originally, Nate was going to do some things on the nature trail next to the school, but he decided to switch to building the benches after talking to Cooper Principal Matt Young, who was the principal at R.E. Baker Elementary when Nate attended the school.

Part of the Eagle project is to show leadership, Auld said, and so Nate led his volunteer crew through the building process.

He had to do everything from locating the plans to developing a supply list to raising the funds to build the project, she said. The wood would have been the biggest expense, but Nate made a presentation to AERT, which then donated the material.

His only expense was for the screws and bolts, Auld said.

Nate estimated the project took 200 man hours to complete.

For Nate, a junior at Bentonville High School, the best part of the project was “fi nally finishing the last table.”

“I spent most of the summer working on the project,” he said. “There were a lot of kinks to work through. And when the final table was done, it was a happy moment.”

Now that his project is finished, Nate has to submit his paperwork and go before a board of review, which will determine if he will receive his Eagle Scout award.

Young liked the idea of the benches.

“The teachers really didn’t have a place to takethe kids outside,” he said.

“The courtyard area was never really a courtyard until now. It was just a concrete slab.

“Nate asked how he could help,” Young said.

“We thought we were getting a couple of benches, but we got so much more than that. Everyone is so excited.”

The tables and benches, which are outside the library, could be used for students to do reading outside, he said. The teachers also have talked about using the area as a place for a possible reward luncheon.

“The possibilities are endless,” Young said. “We now have an area that can be utilized by the entire school.”

Education, Pages 9 on 09/11/2013