Eagle Scout plants 35 Redbud trees in NOTO

This Thursday NOTO celebrate the re-opening of the NOTO Arts Center with an evening full of events capturing the appreciation and recognition of those in our community who have recently stepped forward helping bring NOTO together. Part of the Thursday evening celebration will be set aside to give special thanks to Brendan Huff, a senior from Seaman High School, who has been on the forefront planting 36 Redbud trees throughout NOTO as a special project to earn his Eagle Scout badge.

What started out as a community engagement project to be led by Huff last March quickly took a new direction when Topeka implemented quarantine precautions. "We were all forced to make changes, and this project was a big undertaking that involved deciding details like how the trees were going to be planted, storage and delivery, maintenance and upkeep, among other things." said Program and Communications Coordinator Staci Ogle.

Over the course of the project Huff had to change the plan of having 20-30 volunteers who would help plant trees over the course of a weekend, to figuring out a way to plant 36 trees spread out over 8 weeks time.

"The development and redevelopment of strategies was a great real-world example of what often happens when big projects are being implemented. Brendan was excellent at problem solving ways around obstacles that seemed to surprise us at every corner", said Ogle.

"We were all impressed with his determination and are quite proud of his accomplishments. With the help of his family and a few close friends, he's added an additional 36 Redbud trees to the district, an act that will benefit NOTO for years and years", said Ogle.

Brendan will be formally recognized during Thursday's event at Redbud Park in NOTO starting at 5:30. Other activities for the night include recognition of the new rotating sculptures, tree commemorations, the NOTO Together exhibit in the Morris Gallery, and exciting news about things being planned for the future.