Students plant trees to celebrate Arbor Day

Arbor Day is celebrated only one day of the year, but a tree can last a lifetime.

Mayor Lon Kellstrom read the Arbor Day Proclamation at City Hall on April 22, and again on April 30 at Sisters Overnight Park, proclaiming April 30 to be Arbor Day in the City of Sisters, urging everyone to celebrate Arbor Day and plant trees for future generations.

April 22 is the official day to observe Arbor Day in Nebraska, the birthplace of J. Sterling Morton, born April 22, 1832, and founder of Arbor Day.

It was Sisters fourth year celebrating Arbor Day, and every year one of the classes from Sisters Elementary School helps plant trees somewhere in Sisters Country. This year it was the first-grade class who came out in style with their enthusiasm and readiness to plant trees in Three Sisters Overnight Park.

Several parent volunteers joined in to give them a hand.

This is Sisters' third year as part of Tree City USA, a program that recognizes cities for their community forest

programs. The Arbor Day Foundation, the Forest Service, and the National Association of Foresters sponsor the program. Sisters received a Tree City USA Growth Award this year for its work in the program in 2009.

"City planning is about livability," said City of Sisters associate planner, Laura Lehman, "and trees are an important part of our livability."

Lehman has recently become a board member of Oregon Community Trees, whose volunteers focus on building healthy forests.

Katie Lompa, of Oregon Department of Forestry and also a member of OCT, spoke to the children about what our trees do for us.

"Trees help us buffer noisiness from the street, they block the wind and rain and shelter us," Lompa said. "They also give us fruit and nuts."

"This is great recognition of the importance we in Sisters put on trees," Mayor Kellstrom said. "Trees are one of the things that make Sisters what it is."

Mayor Kellstrom stayed for the afternoon to watch the first graders plant their trees.

The first graders had been learning about trees and other plants all week and demonstrated they understood why tree planting was important.

"I like doing it because it helps the earth by making more trees and making the earth nice," first grader Olivia Bertagna said after planting a tree slightly taller than she was at the edge of the park. "And it's fun."

Several children decided to name their trees. One was dubbed Flower Tree and another was named Bruce the Spruce.

"Just watching how excited they (the first graders) get makes this day so special," Lompa said. "What's neat about Arbor Day is that it's a holiday that celebrates the future. Years from now they'll see the tree they planted when they were in first grade."