Westlake Tree Commission hosts Arbor Day planting
DIS fifth-graders take their turns shoveling dirt onto the crabapple tree. Photo by Tara Wendell
It was a bright sunny day on Friday, April 29, as Arbor Day was celebrated at Dover Intermediate School in Westlake. The students attended a tree planting ceremony celebrating the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day.
Mayor Dennis Clough; Mr. Paul Quinn III, Westlake Service Director; Stan Barnard, Westlake’s Urban Forestry Manager; and members of the Westlake Service Department and the city’s Tree Commission were there to assist with the planting of a tree. Several weeks prior to the ceremony, all fifth-grade students were invited to submit a poster explaining “Why trees are important to me!”
Forty-nine members of the class generated a poster to enter in the annual contest. The posters were then judged by Stan Barnard, Paul Quinn III and Mary Beth Schneidler, Ken Sadd and Justin Parks, members of the Westlake Tree Commission.
To open the ceremony the mayor led a discussion on Arbor Day and the efforts of the City of Westlake to preserve and care for our trees! This is the 31st year that Westlake has been recognized as a Tree City USA.
Arbor Day began in the U.S. in 1872 in Nebraska when an estimated 1 million trees were planted to promote more tree coverage in the United States. Since 1970, Arbor Day has been observed on the last Friday in April in the continental United States.
Six fifth-grade students were selected as the winners of the contest: Seraphina Jia, Netalina Giardini, Sophia Pande, Allyssa Chen, Maya Gentry and Kate Puchmeyer were all presented a proclamation by Mayor Clough. Each proclamation designated a day in Westlake honoring each student and congratulated them for an outstanding poster. The students also received a ribbon for their winning posters.
A beautiful Show Time crabapple tree was provided by the city and then planted by the students at Dover Intermediate School.
The City of Westlake’s Tree Commission, which has been in existence for 31 years, works tirelessly to preserve trees in Westlake. They also have a great deal of input on what trees should be planted throughout the city. The commission certainly hopes that this poster contest is one way to encourage all Westlake residents to cherish our beautiful trees!
Members of the commission are Ken Sadd, Justin Parks, Diane Morris and Mary Beth Schneidler.