WA: Anacortes High School student builds bus stop bench as Eagle Scout project
Passersby may have noticed a new covered, wheelchair-accessible bench at the bus stop on 12th Street just east of Steinman Grocery in Anacortes.
The bench was made by Ethan Ehrheart, an Anacortes High School student, as his Scouting America Eagle Scout project.
When Ehrheart started the project in September, he expected it would take him a few months at most, but the project proved more difficult than anticipated.
Navigating city code can be a tedious process, Ehrheart found.
But with the help of his friends, other Eagle Scouts and about $1,000 raised through a GoFundMe, Ehrheart finished the project in April after 192 hours of work.
Earhart said the bench was a way to give back to the community. He wanted it to represent the city of Anacortes and the Skagit Valley.
To accomplish this, Earhart paid close attention to the art featured on the bench.
Earhart painted flowers and tulips on the east side of the bench, the side nearest the Skagit Valley’s tulip fields. On the west side, which faces the Salish Sea, Ehrheart’s friend Eugenia Kim painted an orca whale.
Earhart’s brother Zephrin also contributed art to the bench, painting a line of ladybugs along the bracing.
Ehrheart said he wanted the art to make the bench feel as if it was crafted specifically for its location.
For Ehrheart, the bench is more than just a contribution to his community.
On Wednesday, Ehrheart turns 18, marking the end of his time in Scouting America. And with high school graduation just a week away, he is looking ahead to his future.
He said his mother has cerebral palsy, which prevents her from driving. When Ehrheart leaves for college, it’s likely that his mother will be taking the bus more often.
Ehrheart plans to attend Skagit Valley College for a couple of years before transferring to Western Washington University in Bellingham.
Ehrheart’s family lives near Steinman’s Grocery, so the bench he built is just a few blocks away from home.
Though his mother’s health is what gave him the idea to build a bench in the first place, Ehrheart soon realized that it would benefit others.
He said he has noticed a lot of people use that bus stop daily.
“It’s a gift to her and the community,” Earhart said. “There’s a lot of kids that use that bus stop, and before the bench, they would just be sitting around on the ground, and I’d be like ‘Aw, that sucks.’”
Ehrheart said that while building the bench, a few people told him they were thankful for his project because of how often they use that bus stop.
Since installing the bench, Ehrheart said he’s received a lot of positive feedback.
He said he hopes the bench encourages more people to use public transport and improves access for disabled people.
“I’m an environmental science major, so it’s really important to me that people use public transport because it’s healthier for the environment,” Earhart said. “And I want disabled people to have easier access for getting around, having more independence, especially when they can’t drive.”
Scouting America Advancement Coordinator Gary Follstad said Ehrheart’s bench has a significant impact on the community, and is “very worthy of an Eagle Scout project.”
He said that Ehrheart managed and coordinated the entire project. He was impressed with all the steps Ehrheart took to get the project approved by the city.
“Usually on a project, you don’t get into city planning,” Follstad said. “There was a lot of back and forth that (Ehrheart) had to do to get this through the city.”
Follstad said Ehrheart’s project represents the good work that is being done by Scouting America scouts to make the community a better place.
Oftentimes the community doesn’t know who was behind Scouting America projects, Follstad said.
“This is the type of thing that’s going on in the community that people don’t realize,” Follstad said. “These kids are the best of our country.”
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