SPFHS Senior Peyton Rose Plants Plant Atlantic White Cedar Saplings At Fanwood Nature Center for His Eagle Scout Project

(Fanwood, NJ) — Peyton Rose, a senior at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, completed his Eagle Scout Project on December 6, 2025 with the help of his friends, family, Scouts from Boy Scout Troop 33 in Fanwood, and support from the Fanwood Environmental Commission. His project consisted of planting 12 Atlantic White Cedar Saplings in the Fanwood Nature Center and building tree guards to protect them from animals and encouraging their growth.

Atlantic White Cedar Saplings can grow from 40 to 75 feet tall and provide many benefits to the Nature Center including providing shelter for animals, stabilizing stream banks, as well as preventing flooding by helping to control water levels in the areas surrounding the trees.

Peyton met with the Environmental Commission and offered to help with any projects or problems they might be encountering. The Commission had been nurturing Atlantic White Cedar saplings to prepare them for planting in the Nature Center.

After much planning and coordination with the Commission, Peyton gathered materials from Home Depot, Wayfair, and Tractor Supply, and set up work sessions to plant the saplings and build and install the tree guards.

Atlantic White Cedar Saplings can grow from 40 to 75 feet tall, and provide many benefits to the Nature Center including providing shelter for animals, stabilizing stream banks, as well as preventing flooding by helping to control water levels in the areas surrounding the trees.

“The Fanwood Environmental Commission has taught me that animals will eat anything, even saplings, and even as the trees grow, they can still be harmed by animals such as deer rubbing their antlers against the trees,” Peyton said, “which is why it is even more important these tree guards keep any dangers to these saplings out and give these trees their best chance to fully grow.”

“I want to thank the Fanwood Environmental Commission for their support, my family for being there to help in every move of this project as well as my friends and fellow Boy Scouts, who were there in the dirt and mud planting saplings and building tree guards,” Peyton said.

Peyton Rose, a senior at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, completed his Eagle Scout Project with the help of his friends, family, Boy Scout Troop 33 in Fanwood, by planting 12 Atlantic White Cedar Saplings in the Fanwood Nature Center and building tree guards.