2018 Arbor Day Activities
Post date: Mar 30, 2018 2:41:47 PM
Arbor Day at Cooper Elementary School - March 29, 2018
For six teachers and nearly 135 third grade students at Cooper Elementary School, Spring Break meant that Arbor Day would be celebrated one week later than normal. That didn’t diminish the excitement, however, as they gathered in the school auditorium on Thursday, March 29 to hear about the importance of trees from Bella Vista Mayor Peter Christie, Bella Vista Garden Club members Penny Frahm and Marion Heath, and Ranger Scott Van Hook from the Arkansas Forestry Commission in Benton County. The program was sponsored by the Bella Vista Garden Club and the Arkansas Forestry Commission in Benton County.
Mayor Christie is no stranger to the students at Cooper Elementary. He began his conversation with them in his usual manner, asking students to show him their socks. The students laughed and raised their feet just as he showed them his own, multi-colored striped socks. Things then took a bit more serious note as he spoke about the importance of trees in the environment. Mayor Christie explained the work being done to designate Bella Vista as a Tree City and told the students that they would have a role to play in that by planting seedlings they would receive at the end of the program. The Mayor and Ranger Van Hook spoke about the history of trees in Arkansas and explained that some once-common species are no longer found here due to blight or other causes. The students had a good understanding of the role that trees play in purifying our air, providing habitat for animals, preventing erosion, and serving as a source of shade on hot, sunny days.
Penny Frahm and Marion Heath from the Bella Vista Garden Club then conducted an interactive discussion with students in which they shared a number of facts about trees. Students tried to guess where the largest, tallest and oldest trees could be found in the United States. At the end of the program, third grade teachers Rachel Welch, Whitney Hackmann, Abby Rogers, Emily Hill, Laura Whited and Rob Brew were presented with a box of 3 Star Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) saplings for their students to plant. The saplings were donated by the Arkansas Forestry Department Nursery with assistance from Anita Overbey, Public Outreach Ranger, and her colleague, Ranger Van Hook.
In southeastern Arkansas, the “Morriss Pine”, a loblolly pine, is over 300 years old with a diameter of more than 56 inches and a height of 117 feet. The famous “Eisenhower Tree” on the 17th hole of Augusta National Golf Club was also a loblolly pine. The tree was given its name after being hit numerous times in President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s golf games there. Unfortunately, it was severely damaged by an ice storm in 2014 and had to be removed. Loblolly pine seeds were carried aboard the Apollo 14 flight. After their return, they were planted in several locations throughout the US, including the grounds of the White House.
Arbor Day in Arkansas is celebrated on the third Monday of March each year. It was designated as a tree planting day and started by J. Sterling Morton from Nebraska in 1872. For more information about Arbor Day and the Arbor Day Foundation, visit https://www.arborday.org/.
