Eagle Scout project spruces up hospital garden

Kalispell Eagle Scout candidate Colton Henriksson and his fellow scouts of Troop 1901 were hard at work at Logan Health Whitefish on Saturday helping improve the hospital’s Planetree Garden.

With the help of nearly $900 dollars worth of materials donated by Western Building Center, Ace Hardware and Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply, the scouts spent six hour building and installing small greenhouses over the garden’s planter boxes as well adding shelves and pegboards to help optimize space in the garden shed.

All of the work was done as part of Henriksson's quest to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.

“Eagle Scout projects are supposed to be about helping the community and just helping people,” Henriksson said. “Looking at the garden and how it helps feed the underprivileged, I thought there was no better project than that.”

Set just north of the hospital in a field of tall grass, the garden is a 60-by-60 foot plot of land with high fences and a large decorative entrance that features the Planetree International logo of a tall and flourishing tree.

The brainchild of former hospital Catering Manager Meagen Healy, the garden’s name comes from the hospital’s patient care philosophy and refers to the Planetree International organization. North Valley became a Planetree affiliate in 2002, joining more than 500 organizations around the world.

Since the garden was created in 2018, the hospital has partnered with Land to Hand Montana (formerly Farm Hands Nourish the Flathead), an organization for farmers, consumers and business leaders in the Flathead, for the garden. Land to Hand provides a garden manager and volunteers, and the hospital also partners with groups like the Center for Native Plants and Landcastle Landscaping.

Henriksson had already done some volunteer work spreading mulch in the garden for his Citizenship for the Community badge and approached Land to Hand Montana’s manager of the garden, Whitney Pratt, when it came time to plan his Eagle Scout project. After coming up with a plan, Henriksson got to work putting that plan in motion.

While Pratt provided the initial plans for the greenhouses, Henriksson made a few tweaks to the designs to make the project work.

“With a little bit of modification, I was able to tailor the greenhouses to meet the garden’s specific needs,” he said. “A major part of the project was drawing up the plans for what needed to be done and finding ways to fundraise or get the materials donated. Without the help of local businesses, we would not have been able to get this done.”

By installing the greenhouses on the garden boxes, Henriksson’s goal is to extend the growing season by as much as eight weeks and allow for more produce to be available to those who are food insecure and for the hospital’s cafe.

“With the greenhouses, we should be able to provide enough warmth to help grow vegetables such as tomatoes and carrots, but nothing like oranges or kumquats or anything like that.

The improvements to the garden shed will also allow for more storage and easy usage by community volunteers.