Page 18 - Priorities #73

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Erik Genet ’22 always knew he wanted to earn the Eagle Scout rank since joining the scouting program nine years ago. The Eagle Scout is the highest rank achievable in the Scouts program, and only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank. Erik debated over a few different ideas for a service project before deciding to build a chicken tractor. The idea came to him during an Ecological Design class that was taught by Hovey Clark. Erik credits Mr. Clark for giving him the idea, and Mr. Clark became very involved in the project as the beneficiary representative since part of Erik’s project was to donate the chicken tractor to the school. Mr. Clark also had to approve and sign off on Erik’s initial project, intended deadline, and his report.
Many people may be asking, “What is a chicken tractor?” Erik happily explained that a chicken tractor
come with its challenges, such as going through four different designs for the wheels alone and getting his designated builders to show up on build days. To add to the challenge, Erik was not allowed to build himself, only give leadership, in order to follow the Eagle Scout guidelines. “In dire circumstances I could build, but that was not a good idea,” Erik explained.
After 345 hours of multiple building sessions by a hardworking group of supportive adults and a few dedicated youths, the chicken tractor was complete. On October 18, 2019, Erik happily delivered it via a U-Haul truck to Priory only a few weeks past his initial deadline and was still considered acceptable as some projects are completed months beyond the initial deadline. Erik was appreciative of Father Matthew Leavy who knew about his project and became a constant source of encouragement and caused Erik to self-evaluate himself in a positive way throughout the process. “Had it not been for Father Matthew’s endless (in a good way) words of encouragement, I don’t know if I would even be finished with the project by now,” he said.
On December 19, 2019, Erik officially became an Eagle Scout after completing a report, presenting at a conference, making a binder, finishing the application and taking a “test.” Erik expressed how he felt after the project was done; “I felt pure happiness when it was completed. This project had taken nearly a year of time from many people to do and complete, and I felt sort of a weight off my shoulder because I wanted to deliver it on time, but that was nothing compared to the happiness from me and the recipients like Mr. Clark and Father Matthew.”
Erik’s chicken tractor can now proudly be seen around the Franklin Garden hillside, housing Priory chickens and allowing them to feast on fresh grass in different locations. If you attend the Gala this year, you’ll also get an opportunity see another rendition of Erik’s chicken tractor as he is building a “different, smaller and lighter” version to be auctioned off.
Erik had some final words for anyone thinking about trying to obtain their Eagle Scout: “In summary, it’s a very large achievement that I believe can be accomplished by anybody, but that person has to be motivated enough to go as far as sacrificing some of their free time to work towards the rank.”
Priory Chickens Benefit from Eagle Scout Project
“is a mobile chicken coop.” His design has a front jack with two wheels, two retractable wheels on the back, and two doors for the chicken coop. The majority of the area is a chicken run where the chickens eat and the resulting manure acts as a fertilizer for the soil. The chicken run is surrounded by a frame of chicken wire to protect against predators and can hold anywhere between four to six chickens comfortably.
Erik originally had planned to start the project in March 2019, but didn’t anticipate all of the aspects involved beyond the actual building phase, such as the communication, writing, and editing of the proposal. So he revised his timeline and started in mid-July with a planned deadline of delivering the chicken tractor on October 6, 2019. The project did
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