Henderson students celebrate Arbor Day

By Jeremy Twitchell

Friday, April 24, 2009 | 5:38 p.m.

Hundreds of fourth-grade students from Henderson schools turned their natural rowdiness toward nature at Morrell Park this morning for the city’s 15th annual Arbor Day celebration.

After learning about the value of trees and how to properly care for them, the students witnessed the planting of a new tree in the park in their honor, and then each received a pine tree sprout to take home and plant on their own.

Representatives from the Nevada Division of Forestry were also on hand to award Henderson with the title of Tree City USA for the 18th straight year. The Tree City program is sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation and has more than 3,300 participating municipalities.

To be declared a Tree City, a city must have four things: a tree board, a tree care ordinance, a community forestry program with an annual budget of at least $2 per resident and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

The Nevada Division of Forestry also awarded Henderson with a Growth Award, which is given to about 500 cities that go above and beyond the Tree City standards.

Councilwoman Gerri Schroder said the awards are a validation of the city’s efforts to maintain a thriving parks system.

“As you can see when you come to any park in Henderson, we work really hard to make sure you have a place to come and play, hang out and spend time with your family,” Schroder said.

Before the planting ceremony, students were treated to a tree-care demonstration by First Choice Tree Service. An employee in a utility truck equipped with a basket raised up more than 30 feet to remove a broken pine tree branch that had buckled under the load of December’s snow storm. As an arborist explained the procedure, mesmerized students looked on from below and cheered on the work crew.

Student Elizabeth Schmidt of John C. Vanderburg Elementary, who won top honors in a citywide Tree City USA poster contest, said the Arbor Day event was much more than she had expected.

“I thought it was exciting and surprising, because of all the events that happened,” she said. “It was great.”