Julia Ward Howe Elementary plants a tree in honor of Mt. Lebanon designation
It was all about trees and being good stewards of the Earth at the Julia Ward Howe Elementary School in Mt. Lebanon
In celebration of Arbor Day, April 24, and in recognition of Mt. Lebanon’s Tree City USA designation – the ninth time community has been named a Tree City – the entire Howe student body gathered on the front lawn of the Broadmoor Avenue school for the planting of a Red Maple tree, the raising of the Tree City USA flag, songs, original student poetry and a concert from the both school band and orchestra.
“A lot of greening has developed here (at Howe) since the planting of the butterfly garden 15 years ago,” said Mary Birks, vice president of the Mt. Lebanon School Board. Birks praised the school’s conservation efforts, such as the recycling of old tennis shoes and the student body’s conscious effort of using only two paper towels when washing their hands.
To achieve Tree City status, a community must have a forestry commission and budget a certain amount of public funding for forestry, and as well as have an annual Arbor Day celebration – Mt. Lebanon held its celebration April 25 in Mt. Lebanon Park. Each time Mt. Lebanon is designated a Tree City, the municipality donates a tree to one of the schools in the district.
Bonnie Dougherty, the environmental chair of the school district, told the students if one person recycles, it is not going to change the world. But, if everyone recycles, everyone benefits.
“It will get a whole lot better,” she said.
Six students were chosen randomly by their teachers to plant the tree: Maxton Siegel, kindergarten; Luke Hodgson, first grade; Jesse Batz, second grade; Camryn Bouvy, third grade; Grace Evangelista, fourth grade and Cassidy Sohyda, fifth grade. Each student was given a gold shovel with a green ribbon to do the planting.
Following the planting, David Brumfield, a Mt. Lebanon commissioner, read a proclamation from the commission on the community’s Tree City status. He also encouraged the students and the parents who were present to plant trees .
“Trees enhance value,” he said.