Nervous in front of a crowd? Sean Weber isn’t, not really.

It’s a skill he’s picked up over the years. Some would call him gifted, or an old soul. The Sequim 13-year-old is simply enjoying life.

So when it came time to raise funds for his Eagle Scout project, Weber wasn’t worried in the least about asking for some help from the Sequim community.

The project planning? That was a bit tougher.

But attendees at the 15th Dungeness River Festival got an eyeful of Weber’s hard work, a three-tiered water feature that adorns the Audubon Center’s west end.

“I wanted to do something for the park,” Weber said. “I thought, ‘What can I do to meet the needs of the park?’”

Weber’s first Eagle Scout proposal didn’t pan out, so he turned to a place he’s familiar with. A  cross country runner at Sequim Middle School, Weber’s training runs often take him to the park and he’s been an attendee of Audubon’s summer camps.

Weber, a Scout for about five-and-a-half years, approached Powell Jones, director at the Audubon Center, in March with his idea. Weber then began some sketches and drawings to put some flesh on the project. He wanted something calming, not dramatic, and settled on the multi-tiered fountain-like feature that was soothing and peaceful, enough that some of the park’s birds could enjoy a sip or a bath.

“The most difficult was planning it all,” Weber said.

He then began his fundraising for this project, estimating the project would cost $4,000 in materials and labor. He solicited donations from family, local businesses and organizations, including the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and Sequim Noon Rotary toward the end of July. Each of those groups donated $1,000. In all, he was able to raise $4,500 in funds, material and time donations.

His first work party involved recruiting his fellow Scouts to come clear out all the excess overgrown bushes and shrubbery, and a second, smaller work party followed.

“Your troop is your biggest support,” Weber said, so he’d bribe fellow Scouts with food if they’d come out and lend a hand.

Weber got significant labor help, materials and advice from Blake Tile and Stone, Brian Burke from Full Spectrum Landscape and Mike Boone from Boone’s Excavating to help the water feature take shape. A rock that was donated by the Forbes family to the Audubon Center was set as the fountain’s  centerpiece.

Weber said he never really got anxious about finishing until the final three days before the River Festival, hoping to have it done in time.

A Scout’s life

Weber estimates he’s put in more than 400 hours of work on the project. Now that it’s done, he’s hoping the project will pay off again.

In two months, Weber — son of Carl and Asma Weber, both physicians in Sequim — will present the project in total to Scout officials with the Chief Seattle Council of Boy Scouts, who will review not only Weber’s Eagle project in detail, but his entire Scout history.

If a panel of Scout leaders decide he’s completed all the requirements and led a Scouting career in an exemplary manner, he will be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout.

The Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America. Scouts who attain the rank are called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, more than 2 million youths have earned the distinction. About 7 percent of Boy Scouts earned the Eagle Scout rank in 2013. Most Scouts that are working toward Eagle Scout are juniors or seniors in high school.

Requirements include earning at least 21 merit badges and demonstrating Scout Spirit through the Boy Scout Oath and Law, service and leadership. This includes an extensive service project that the Scout plans, organizes, leads and manages.

“I enjoy all the activities we do, just being with other Scouts and friends,” Weber said.

Assisting Weber with the project were: Jamestown S’Kllam Tribe, Sequim Noon Rotary, Full Spectrum Landscape, Boone Construction, Blake Tile and Stone, Forbes Family, Pacific Primary Care, Akhtar Family, Bruce Skinner, All Round Bikes, Olympic Ambulance, Carl and Paula Weber, Rosales Family, Annette Nesse, Billy Nagler/The Oak Table, Jack and Michelle Grinnel, Home Depot, Costco, Walmart and Pacific Northwest Animal Hospital.