CRANBURY: Eagle Scout plants 80 trees for Lions anniversary

By Amy Batista, Special Writer
   Cranbury Eagle Scout candidate Clay Kaiser is helping the local Lions Club celebrate its 80th anniversary by planting 80 trees around the township.
   Clay collaborated with the Lions Club, the New Jersey Tree Foundation, and the Boy Scouts of America to help celebrate the organization’s 80th anniversary and to signify its 80 years of service while working to complete his Eagle Scout project and recognize the importance of Earth Day.
   ”I originally wanted to plant much larger trees, but they were very expensive and it would have been harder to find a spot to plant them all,” Clay said. “The Lions told me that the NJ Tree Foundation would donate two year old saplings for free. I went to the NJ Tree Foundation training and had an idea to plant the trees on Earth Day 2012.”
   The New Jersey Tree Foundation provided four different species of trees – Tulip Poplar, Eastern Redbud, Willow Oak, and Flowering Dogwood. The Foundation requested the trees be planted on Earth Day making it a registered Earth Day project, according to Clay.
   ”Beginning in July 2011, the Lions Clubs International President created an international project to plant 1 million trees, worldwide,” said Bob Virgadamo, secretary. “The Lions around the world have planted 8,461,776. The Cranbury Lions have done their part by donating 80 trees to be planted in Cranbury with an additional 20 donated to a worthwhile facility.”
   Mr. Virgadamo noted that as Project Coordinator for the Cranbury Lions Club, he discussed the project in terms of it being a joint project between them and Boy Scout Troop 52 and the potential of it being an excellent Eagle Scout Project.
   ”After doing some research, we were able to obtain the trees from the New Jersey Tree Foundation, but unfortunately, the ‘bare root saplings’ were too small to be used by Cranbury Township, and we decided that the town can still enjoy the visible beauty and ecological benefit of the trees by offering them to residents,” Mr. Virgadamo said.
   Residents were able to have the saplings planted around their homes but need to be at home on April 22, Earth Day, to be able to coordinate the planting with Clay and his team of volunteers.
   Around 40 volunteers came out to support Clay and the Cranbury Lions Club.
   ”I, along with my two sons, both scouts, helped Clay plant some trees this past Sunday,” said parent and volunteer Zaheer Babar. “Rainy weather added to the difficulty of the task but Clay showed real leadership and no matter what obstacles, got the job done. While doing so, he was courteous, responsible and very focused. I am sure he made his parents proud.”
   Ms. Babar noted that her third son, Sean, who is away at college, is an Eagle Scout. Her son Zachary is working on his Eagle Scout project, and younger brother Chad, 9, is a Cub Scout as well.
   ”Clay has shown a maturity, work ethic, and ability to lead far beyond his years, and it has been my pleasure to work with him on this project. If anyone still wishes to obtain a (free) tree through Clay and the Lions – presuming there are any left when this article appears – they may do so by going to Clay’s Tree website, www.tinyurl.com/80trees,” Mr. Virgadamo said.
   ”I joined Cub Scouts in 2007 and became a Boy Scout In February 2009. I set my goal to become an Eagle Scout by the end of 2012 a few years ago. I was just elected by the troop members to serve as Senior Patrol Leader for the next 6 months,” Clay said. “I started planning the project last year when the Lions told me about their idea. I have been working on a detailed plan for the service project during the past four months. I have has several scout leaders review the project before I got started.”
   Clay noted the training involved with parents, scouts, and volunteers which is part of his Eagle Scout requirements.
   ”I trained many of the volunteers how to plant the trees and they then trained the others. I had Lions, Scout leaders, parents and Scouts volunteer for the work sessions of the project,” Clay said.
   Clay described how he publicized the tree plantings and got the public involved and the reactions from the public.
   ”I sent out publicity about the free trees in e-mail blasts, blogs, and newspaper announcements. Everyone that replied was really happy about getting a tree. Some people wanted more than one but had to wait until everyone replied first,” Clay said. “I used my website to create a work list for trees to be planted and set up small teams that would go from house to house to plant the trees.”
   Clay even made sure that everyone knew and was prepared with care instructions for their saplings.
   ”I printed and delivered a certificate and care instructions to every person who received a tree,” Clay said.
   Clay said Walmart donated work gloves for the volunteers, but he will need to have a car wash to raise the money to pay for the rest of the supplies.