East Texas Boy Scout completes wheelchair-accessible garden at CampV

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - With the help of 16 people and almost 300 hours of service, a brand new wheelchair-accessible garden opened today at CampV’s campus in Tyler.

Tomatoes, peppers and herbs are things you can find in the new ADA Eagle Scout Garden. Andrew Bunt, a life scout working toward becoming an Eagle Scout, along with his troop leader and veterans celebrated the opening of the all-access vegetable garden.

“We started in March of this year with the general concept. Building that took about a month to get all the logistics out and make sure everything was smooth. Then we planned it, built the blueprint, funded, built the garden bed and then paperwork. It was a long process but it was definitely worth it,” Bunt said.

CampV is a 20-acre campus that integrates military and civilian resources through one central location. Co-founder Susan Campbell said this is a great addition to their future and helping veterans.

“Very excited about the garden because it’s been on our master plan for probably five years. I never thought about ADA, so what a perfect add that Andrew came up with to help those veterans with disabilities or just older, senior veterans that don’t want to be bending down,” she said.

Guests got to hear more from Bunt, walk the garden and join in fellowship.

CampV’s Executive Director, Travis Gladhill, said this garden will be a place for veterans to cultivate plants, build relationships with one another and focus on mindfulness.

“His communication, his attention to detail, and his dedication are all proof of the outstanding job that his parents, his scout leaders, and this community have done to help turn this young boy into a strong man,” Gladhill said.

Bunt left an open bed for the veterans to choose what they’d like to plant in the garden. The project was fully funded by the help of donors in just under two days. In all, they raised over $2,000.

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