SOMERS POINT — Somers Point teen Geoffrey Lovett supervised members of Boy Scout Troop 55 on March 1 as they removed, rebuilt and refilled garden planters at Somers Mansion.
The effort was part of the 15-year-old’s effort toward achieving Scouting’s highest honor, Eagle Scout rank.
For his project, Lovett chose to remove the eight garden beds on the mansion property and replace them with new beds filled with fresh wood chips and eco-soil.
The sophomore at Mainland Regional High School said his initial idea was to build a fence around the existing beds but he was told that it was not significant enough to merit the rank.
“I came to the idea to redo the entire boxes, make them bigger and fill them up with a bunch of soil,” he said, noting the help he got from local businesses.
The project also involved improving a wild thicket of trees facing Shore Road, where the old dirt was dumped.
“Not only will the grounds behind Somers Mansion be improved but it will enhance the chances of a bountiful harvest next spring,” said Rosemary Evans of the Green Thumb Garden Club, which along with the Patriots for the Somers Mansion maintains the gardens.
“The boxes will allow us to continue planting things that are an example of what you might have found in the years past,” club president Pam DeMarco said.
Lovett secured wood donated by Somers Point Lumber, the eco-soil from the Atlantic County Utilities Authority and the wood chips from the Tree-Man arborist. Members of various Somers Point organizations and neighbors offered tools.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
