New Canaan Teen Completes Eagle Project at Daycare He Once Attended as a Child

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William Ntiri had always imagined doing his Eagle Scout project in Ghana, where his family is from, as a way of giving back to the community that shaped who he is. When the logistics made that impossible, he looked closer to home and found the perfect fit: a place he has called home since he was five years old. 

“I decided to give back to another community, a community I’ve actually been raised in since preschool,” Ntiri told NewCanaanite.com. “I actually used to come to the daycare here.”

A member of Boy Scout Troop 31 in New Canaan, Ntiri built and installed wooden planters at the Day Care Center of New Canaan on Maple Street, completing the project required to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest achievement in scouting. The planters are designed to give children at the center a chance to grow and harvest plants in an outdoor space that is now more welcoming for kids and staff.

“I hope the kids will be able to learn about nature in this increasingly technological world,” Ntiri said. “I think it’s very important for them to understand what impact they can make on the environment.”

The planters are interactive, kids can plant what they want, watch the plants grow, and eventually harvest them.

The project came together under significant time pressure. Materials, primarily cedar, arrived in mid-May, and Ntiri had a hard deadline: Eagle Scout projects must be completed before a scout’s birthday, and his fell on June 15.

Once the supplies arrived, he sent out flyers and invitations to fellow scouts, friends and family, ran a fundraiser for donations, and assembled a team of volunteers to help with the build. The physical installation took three days.

The feedback from the Day Care Center has been positive, Ntiri said, though there was initial confusion about where exactly the planters should be placed, which he said he was able to resolve.

Ntiri started his scouting journey in 2016, joining as a Cub Scout in second grade. Nine years later, earning Eagle Scout still does not feel fully real.

“It feels surreal,” he said. “Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I can’t even believe that I’ve gotten to that point.”

He credited several people with helping him reach the finish line. His mother kept him on course through the moments he considered giving up.

“So many times I wanted to quit and ask myself if I even wanted Eagle,” Ntiri said. “But she really redirected me on that path.”

He also singled out Christopher Dooley, his Eagle Scout coach, as an especially important figure.

“I believe that every potential Eagle Scout, at least in New Canaan, should have him as a coach,” Ntiri said. “He set the bar for what an Eagle coach should be.”

Ntiri also thanked Weed and Duryea, a hardware and lumber supply store in town, for supplying tools and materials, Troops 31 and 45 and Pack 70, the three scouting groups he has been part of throughout his journey, and Grace Community Church and Congregational Church for their support.

Another source of encouragement came from the Maasai tribe in Kenya, who sent words of support late in the project timeline through song.

“They’re known for their singing,” Ntiri said. “I speak their language, so I could actually understand what they were saying in the songs.”

That connection to his roots runs through the whole project. Ntiri said his Ghanaian heritage has shaped the way he thinks about community, teaching him to care deeply about every place he belongs to.

Reflecting on what the project gave him beyond the rank, Ntiri said the experience helped him grow as a leader, working alongside younger scouts and teaching them how to handle tools and move materials.

“It was a very humbling experience for me,” he said. “It’s also helped me to work on being a leader, and it’s helped me not to procrastinate as much.”

His closing message to New Canaan was straightforward.

“The community of New Canaan as a whole is a very uplifting community,” he said. “It’s been really nice to know that I have people to support me whenever I fall or trip up. And I hope these planters give something back to a place that has given so much to me.”