Photo

To become an Eagle Scout, one San Ramon Valley High student helped build infrastructure that will feed hundreds throughout the county.

"We have a great garden that is growing organic produce," said Dan Parnas, a parent volunteer at Greenbrook Elementary School's garden. "(The garden) has helped the kids at school to learn about organic foods and the value to the environment."

However, the garden had a lot of unusable space that prevented students from growing as much produce for the Contra Costa Food Bank. That's where Shannon Leonard came in.

For his Eagle Scout project, Leonard built and installed planter boxes to increase the space on the fertile sections of the garden. He ended up doubling the area so twice as much food could be grown.

"Greenbrook's garden has been struggling along for ten years," said Leonard's mother, Kathy, who works at the school. "The caretakers are really trying to make something out of it."

In addition to installing the planter boxes, Leonard organized 12 other Scouts to help him weed the whole garden.

"I have definitely gotten a lot of leadership opportunities because I've had to organize this whole project," said Leonard. "It made me feel good that I could give back to my community in this way."

Leonard's friends and fellow Scouts weren't the only ones to assist with the project; a local fencing company donated redwood for the planter boxes and Home Depot donated the soil.

"We would not have been able to do as many planter boxes without all this help," Kathy said.

Leonard, who is going to be a senior this fall, has been involved with the Boy Scouts for seven years. "You get to do a lot of activities that you don't normally get to do, like backpacking and camping," he said of his participation in the troop.

"The project was really fulfilling," his mother said. "I could tell he was really proud of it. Shannon has always been aware of people who need help. He fit right in at the garden, he met the caretakers and off he went."

Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.