As part of his Eagle Scout requirements, Brett Woller of Merrill designed and built an outdoor classroom at Kate Goodrich Elementary School. Brett and his fellow Troop 599 Boy Scouts put in 402 man hours on the structure, which was built this summer and dedicated Friday.
Brett took on the ambitious Eagle Scout service project with encouragement from his sister, Sandy Rusch, who is a teacher at Kate Goodrich. Brett’s dad, Jim Woller, said he let Brett handle as much of the project as possible with some guidance from himself and other leaders with construction experience.
The 24×28-foot, open-sided structure is being put to use by Kate Goodrich classes for working on projects outdoors. It is also utilized by people from the community. Brett and his fellow Scouts also built six picnic tables that have been placed inside the outdoor classroom.
Kate Goodrich raised a total of $14,000 to fund the shelter and new playground equipment. The funds included a $5,000 grant from Lowe’s, contributions from Merill Area Public Schools physical education and special education departments, Kate Goodrich PTO and money raised by students.
Brett’s Eagle Scout ceremony will be held at Saint Andrew Lutheran Church in Wausau in November.