The Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary (CVHAS) in Newtown will soon have eight eastern bluebird houses thanks to an Eagle Scout project.

Brookfield resident and Immaculate High School of Danbury junior Nate Varda attended Fraser Woods Montessori School in Newtown from second to eighth grade. He recently shared in a phone interview that he feels connected to Newtown and wanted to support the sanctuary after completing a service project there last summer.

While working to help weatherproof benches last summer, Nate said, “I saw how beautiful it was. It was a cause that resonated with me, and it was outdoors, which I love.”

Now Nate is working to raise funds and complete planting seeds and building and installing eight eastern bluebird houses at the sanctuary by Memorial Day. He has a gofundme.com page, “Restoring the Meadow at the CVHAS,” and, as of April 13, was just short of his $2,800 goal by about $700.

Eastern bluebirds are the focus because Nate says they are at risk due to deforestation. The birdhouses were designed by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

His GoFundMe explains, “I will be organizing volunteers to build and install eight Eastern Bluebird houses, as well as hand seed about 2-1/2 acres of land with buckwheat, rye, and meadow seeds as part of the meadow restoration project. As someone who attended school in Newtown, was in lockdown during the Sandy Hook shooting, and is friends with the Hubbard family, the Sanctuary and its mission is very important to me. The ultimate goal here is to raise $2,800 to fully fund the project to completion. Donations of any size would be greatly appreciated and if you would like to volunteer, please contact me.”

Volunteers can contact him by e-mail at nvardaqb@gmail.com. If he exceeds his goal of raising $2,800, or if spending for the project is less than anticipated, the funds will be given to the sanctuary.

Nate said his project is “a way I can leave an impact on a community that helped me grow a lot as a person.”

He has been a Scout since first grade and has been a member of Boy Scout Troop 135 of Brookfield for seven years.

“I love how much it brings the outdoors into your life and the amount of skill it teaches you,” he said about Scouting. Later he added, “It gives you this ‘want’ to give back to others and be grateful for what you have and what the world has given you.”

Nate reflected that Eagle Scout projects are designed to have the Scouts manage the projects, so, in his case, that means he is introducing people to CVHAS. He hopes it will create more opportunities for his troop to volunteer there in the future, along with finding more people to support the sanctuary.