For his Eagle Scout project, Michael Higbie, 15, organized the landscaping of a 12-foot "W" outside Westfield High School's stadium last summer.
The son of Pat and Joy Higbie of Virginia Run is a member of Boy Scout Troop 682 of Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church and a sophomore at Westfield High.
For the project he completed last August, Michael met with assistant principal Mike Campbell who suggested the "W" landscaping idea.
He enlisted the help of his aunt, a landscape architect, and Ourisman Fairfax Toyota, which donated $1,500 toward the project. The rest of the $3,500 came from door-to-door fund-raising, donations from Westfield's Athletic Booster Club and its PTSA.
He also got generous discounts from Merrifield Garden Center to purchase the plant materials. Other corporate sponsors included Luck Stone Quarry which provided the decorative stone, Ultra Turf for the mulch and wheelbarrows, Capital Rentals for the roto tillers and other equipment, and Neff & Neff for the fill dirt and top soil.
Michael supervised 20 people doing more than 200 hours of labor to complete the project, including planning, design, installation, fund-raising, cleanup, watering.
The "W" was built near Westfield's gated stadium that is used for outdoor athletic events. It was formerly a barren area of rocks and weeds that measured about 200 feet long and 40 feet wide near the concession stand.
The "W" is framed in a black steel border that is filled with two tons of decorative stone, surrounded by 44 green liriope in the shape of an oval. There are 43 blue rug juniper on the front side of the oval; 29 crimson pygmy barberry behind the oval, and it's finished off with 54 black-eyed Susans behind the barberry — the same colors as the school colors — black and gold. In all, there are 170 plants.