Boy Scouts and Dig Right In Team Up

Kiwanis Park in Brookfield just got a little better, thanks to local Boy Scout Luke Graham and Dig Right In. Luke, who lives close to the park, used to be neighbors with Jeff Swano, owner of Dig Right In. They recently partnered to create a much-needed rain garden in Kiwanis Park.

Even after recent improvements at the park, after a heavy rain the grass and trails would stay flooded for days. Worse yet, the standing water created a bad mosquito annoyance. Luke chose to create a rain garden for his Eagle Scout Service Project. Jeff volunteered his time, expertise, and staff to help design, plan and install it. The rain garden will now take in excess stormwater, preventing damage to the trails and grass and making the park more usable and enjoyable.

Luke, age 17 and a senior at Riverside-Brookfield High School, has been a member of Troop 111 almost his whole life and his dad is the troop scoutmaster. He spent 10 months earning merit badges and working on his final project in order to become an Eagle Scout. “I had to learn everything about the rain garden so that I could lead the volunteers on installation day,” Luke said. “I enjoyed planning the garden with Jeff and seeing that design go in.”

On Sunday, August 6th 15 scout volunteers met with Luke, Jeff and Mike Crouchelli of Dig Right In, and converged on Kiwanis Park to install the rain garden. They spent 3 hours installing the rain garden and now the Village of Brookfield is watering the new plants until they’re established. “I’m grateful to Luke for the opportunity to solve an important problem at Kiwanis,” said Jeff. “He is a very talented young man and it was an honor to work on his Eagle Scout Project with him.”

You can see for yourself in these before and after pictures, that Luke’s vision and hard work created an everlasting difference in the lives of Brookfield residents and all who enjoy Kiwanis Park.