Arbor Day in review

We celebrated Arbor Day on Friday.  The fourth Friday in April has been set aside to celebrate the importance of trees.  There were celebrations in each district in Milwaukee, some earlier this week, many on Arbor Day.  Some were big with the Mayor and other dignitaries present.  Some were small with parents and children watching, for the first time, a tree planted for their future enjoyment.

I had the pleasure of attending five of those celebrations with different schools and libraries on our side of town.  The teachers and kids do a great job of putting together their own special programs.  There is singing at some, poetry at others, and proclamations read from the mayor designating this day as Arbor Day.

Our Forestry Department employees put in a lot of hard work to get the trees in the ground ahead of the celebrations.  Some of the kids were able to watch as the trees went in the ground from their school windows. The kids do a ceremonial planting by mulching and watering the trees which have been planted for them.  

Even though the things they do are more ceremony than function, they learn about the trees and their importance in our environment.  They know that the air they breathe is because the trees turn the carbon dioxide around them into oxygen for them.  They appreciate the shade and learn to climb the trees that have been planted years before they were born.  They will enjoy the colorful leaves in autumn as they play on their school grounds.

After all the ceremonies, the kids are given a spruce tree to take home and  plant themselves.  It is great to see the smiles and laughter. The kids enjoyed on a sunny day made perfect for Arbor Day.