TERRE HAUTE —
The roots of environmental activism took hold in Terre Town Elementary School on Friday, Arbor Day.
Inside the school gymnasium, hundreds of students sang their parts in a schoolwide Arbor Day program. Mayor Duke Bennett issued a proclamation on behalf of the city, and school officials explained a special prize.
The school’s east side was selected to receive a new flowering crab apple, part of an ongoing tradition involving the city’s designation as a “Tree City USA,” officials explained.
Before the Arbor Day program, fourth- and fifth-graders gathered outside to mulch around the new tree.
Jody Rogers, a special needs teacher at the school, said the student body was abuzz about their tree.
“It’s been very exciting for us,” she said as members of the student council shoveled mulch about the site. “It’s been a big deal.”
Rogers said environmental issues are routinely incorporated into lesson plans, and she directed her reading classes toward materials about Earth Day this year. Meanwhile, the term “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is prevalent in student discussions.
“They know that term,” she said. “And going green. They know what that means.”
Carissa Lovett, a naturalist who works out of Dobbs Park, said members of Trees Inc.’s environmental education committee take their program to students throughout the Vigo County School Corp.
“We go to every classroom,” she said, explaining Trees Inc. provides coloring books, soy crayons and T-shirts promoting environmentalism at every stop.
Friday’s student program featured songs and short presentations about the history of Arbor Day, as well as the benefit provided by trees. In addition to the aesthetic enhancement they bring to an area, trees convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, produce foods such as apples and cherries, and serve as an important component in paper and building materials.
Bennett told students the city, in partnership with Trees Inc., will plant 300 trees this year, continuing a long-observed municipal tradition. This year marks the 14th for Terre Haute to be a Tree City USA, and hundreds more trees are planned for the planting in years to come, he said.
Superintendent Danny Tanoos told students the new tree is something they’ll be able to enjoy throughout their years at Terre Town Elementary and long into adulthood.
“But it’s more than the trees,” he said, explaining the value of keeping the city clean, picking up trash and caring for the community.
As part of the program, each student received a sapling to take home and plant, and the school was given a Tree City USA flag to display.
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Mulches grassiness: Terre Town Elementary 5th grader Tucker Carson spreads mulch around the base of the school's new flowering crab apple tree Friday afternoon. The tree planting was part of the school's Arbor Day celebration.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Celebration: Terre Town Elementary School music teacher Deb Goerker led students in an Arbor Day presentation Friday afternoon. The program included tips on recycling and the benefits of trees and flowers.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Free trees: Terre Haute urban forester Sheryle Dell will be passing out these seedlings today at Collett Park from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. She will also have information on the Emerald Ash Borer and its effects on the city's ash trees.
Discussion
The Arbor Day Way
School honors trees’ virtues
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