Belpre students belatedly plant tree for Arbor Day
Students and staff at Belpre Elementary gather on the front lawn of the school Thursday to plant a tree in honor of Arbor Day. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
Principal for the Day Cooper Burnfield, fourth grade, poses with Belpre Mayor Michael Lorentz Thursday at Belpre Elementary as the school planted a maple tree in honor of Arbor Day. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
Principal for the Day Cooper Burnfield, fourth grade, left, and Belpre Mayor Mike Lorentz, right, at Belpre Elementary Thursday after the planting of a maple tree for Arbor Day. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
Students and staff at Belpre Elementary gather on the front lawn of the school Thursday to plant a tree in honor of Arbor Day. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
Principal for the Day Cooper Burnfield, fourth grade, poses with Belpre Mayor Michael Lorentz Thursday at Belpre Elementary as the school planted a maple tree in honor of Arbor Day. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
Principal for the Day Cooper Burnfield, fourth grade, left, and Belpre Mayor Mike Lorentz, right, at Belpre Elementary Thursday after the planting of a maple tree for Arbor Day. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
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BELPRE -- After almost a week of delays due to weather, a group of kindergarten and second grade students at Belpre Elementary School, along with staff, gathered Thursday on the front lawn of the school to plant a maple tree donated by the City of Belpre in honor of Arbor Day.
Belpre Mayor Mike Lorentz joined the students and staff with a proclamation declaring Belpre a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation. The proclamation says this is the 28th year Belpre has received the recognition.
"I urge all citizens to celebrate Arbor Day and to support efforts to protect our trees and woodlands," Lorentz said in the proclamation. "I urge all citizens to plant trees to gladden the heart and promote the wellbeing of this and future generations."
Arbor Day was originated by J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska City, Neb., at an annual meeting of the Nebraska State board of agriculture held in Lincoln on April 10, 1872, when an estimated one million trees were planted in Nebraska that day. On April 15, 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt issued an "Arbor Day Proclamation to the School Children of the United States" about the importance of trees and that forestry deserves to be taught in schools.
Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com