Students plant trees at City Hall to help celebrate Arbor Day

The City of Ritzville and LRS fifth graders celebrated Arbor Day the best way they could on April 26, by planting four new trees on the grounds of City Hall and discussing the importance of leaving a legacy.

Mayor Gary Cook and councilmember and Ritzville Tree Board chairman Mike Schrag delivered speeches about the origins and the importance of Arbor Day, which was founded by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska City, Nebraska in 1872. Schrag talked about how planting trees is one way for the students to leave a long-lasting and healthy legacy on Earth.

Schrag also presented Cook with a Tree City USA plaque, celebrating the ninth year that Ritzville has been recognized as a Tree City USA member. Cook mentioned in his speech that planting trees in a city can help beautify neighborhoods, can help increase property values and can be a source of pride.

The winners of the essay contest were also announced, with the first, second and third place finishers each winning a prize and reading their essays to classmates, parents and city officials. Jackson Nichols finished in third place, Saige Galbreath finished in second place and Zoe Galbreath finished in first place. The winners of the essay contest received a gift certificate from the Boxwood that they could use to purchase trees, plants and flowers.

All fifth grade students-as well as fourth grade students-received a Western Larch tree seedling that they could take home and plant for themselves, which were donated by Umpqua Bank.

Following the festivities indoor, the City's Public Works crew led the students outside and showed them the correct way to plant a tree. Steps include digging a hole that's not too deep but not too shallow, making sure the tree's roots aren't tangled together, making sure there are not any pockets of air in the soil, watering the tree enough and planting the tree where it will get plenty of sunlight.

Each fifth grade student was part of a group of six or seven students that was tasked with planting their own tree on the City Hall lawn. By being able to participate, students had the opportunity of gaining first-hand knowledge about how to correctly plant a tree so they would be able to plant their own trees when they got home.

Other Arbor Day plans for the City included planting four trees on the lawn of the Ritzville Public Library, as well as replacing a crabapple tree on the Burroughs Home property.