Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Kevin Tritschler, a senior at Valley Stream South High School, recently completed his Eagle Scout project by building two planter boxes, two compost bins and weather-resistant educational signage for the Valley Stream Beautification Committee’s new community garden.
“I’ve just found that litter cleanup is, besides being good for the environment, a fun pastime for me to partake in the long run — even if I forget to bring gloves sometimes,” Tritschler, 18, member of Franklin Square Boy Scout Troop 485, said. “Since then, I really became interested in sanitation and environmental conservation, even if I never had a lot of opportunities to act on it, which is why I was really excited to be given the chance to do an Eagle Scout project, because that actually gave me an opportunity to act on it.”
Tritschler’s project spanned more than a year from concept to completion. It began with a different proposal: installing litter cleanup stations in parks throughout Valley Stream. He submitted that plan to the village of Valley Stream early last year, but it was rejected over concerns about the long-term maintenance and management of the stations.
By August, Tritschler had come up with a new plan to work with the Valley Stream Beautification Committee, an organization he had previously worked with as a member of Valley Stream South’s Key Club. The group had long been working on establishing a community garden on East Hawthorne Avenue, drawing inspiration from similar projects in nearby towns. It members were enthusiastic about integrating Tritschler’s efforts into their plans, and this time the beatification committee and the Theodore Roosevelt boy scout counsel approved his project.
He raised over $1,000, which was used to buy materials for planter boxes, compost bins and signs. After completing them, he had around $54 remained, which he spent on a poster board presentation to document the project’s impact.
The planter boxes Tritschler built were placed near the corner of the garden, and inspired the Beautification Committee to install additional boxes later.
“Kevin’s model that he chose was strong, easily repairable and it gave us an opportunity to think about how the future of the garden would grow,” David Sabatino, the village’s deputy treasurer for planning and development, said. “As things deteriorate, his design allows us to swap out the cedar wood very easily; it’s easy to repair. That’s the best way, and still looks great and provides what we need it to provide.”
The compost bins recycle plant waste, and the signage offers guidance on composting and environmental sustainability. These features are now key components of the community garden, which operates as a shared space where individuals and groups maintain beds and grow a variety of crops. The garden encourages sustainable practices, and allows participants to use or donate what they harvest.
“It has been really fun watching the community garden grow, knowing that Kevin had a hand in it from the ground up,” his mother, Michele Tritschler, said. “An Eagle Scout project is supposed to be sustainable, and Kevin definitely accomplished that. These planter boxes and his compost bin will be there for a very long time. Every time I go there, it makes me smile.”
For Kevin, the experience served as more than just a service requirement for scouting’s highest rank — it confirmed his ability to manage a large public project.
“To me, personally, it signals, if anything, that I’m actually capable of handling management tasks or projects I’d like to get done,” he said. “Doing the Eagle Scout project showed me what it’s actually like to be a leader, or at least a manager of a major public project as a whole, in that, as a leader, you’re not supposed to actually be doing the groundwork. You’re supposed to be supervising others who actually do the groundwork — at least that’s how my scoutmaster put it for me. It also helps show me just how much paperwork goes into these things.”
The project required three rounds of documentation, which had to be submitted both digitally and in printed form for review by scout leaders and others involved in the approval process.
Now an Eagle Scout, Tritschler can remain involved in his troop in an adult capacity, helping younger scouts with advancement as needed. He plans to attend Binghamton University this fall, where he will major in environmental studies.
His project will continue to benefit the community garden, contributing to its growth and long-term sustainability. The structures he built remain in active use, and serve as a foundation for ongoing civic engagement in Valley Stream.
