Superintendent’s Blog: An Arbor Day to Remember
by Sublette County School District #1
May 26, 2012
Sublette County School District #1 Superintendent, Jay Harnack has added a new post on his school blog about the May 25th Rose Skinner Arbor Day celebration.
An Arbor Day to Remember by Jay Harnack
What do you get when you mix seven local and state organizations, a bunch of third graders, a state grant and typical Wyoming weather? The first arboretum of its kind in the Wyoming and an Arbor Day to remember.
A grant from the Wyoming State Forestry Division to Sublette County School District #1 provided over 70 trees that were planted in an arboretum on the play field behind Pinedale Elementary School. With the assistance of the Town of Pinedale, the Parks and Tree Board, the UW Extension Office, the Sublette County Conservation District, and large group of rain-soaked PES third graders, a very memorable Arbor Day took place.
Pinedale Mayor Steve Smith kicked off the celebration by proclaiming May 25th, 2012 as Rose Skinner Arbor Day in honor of former Pinedale mayor Rose Skinner. Dana Stone, Pinedale District Forester, then presented Mayor Steve Smith with new signs and a flag commemorating twenty years of participation for Pinedale in the Tree City, USA program.
Rocky Mountain Power provided t-shirts to all of the third graders and Assistant Pinedale District Forester Brook Lee presented the third grade group with a certificate for free seedlings from the Conservation District. After that, State Forester Mark "Oly" Ellison led the whole group out into the rain to plant over thirty trees. The rain certainly didn't dampen any spirits, and in shortly over an hour all the trees had a new home. The arboretum was officially named Meadowlark Arboretum, after the state bird of Wyoming.
Once the trees have been properly watered and staked, the arboretum will be open to the public. All of the trees have an identifying tag. If you happen to see that some of the trees aren't doing too well, don't be concerned. The purpose of the arboretum is to determine which species of trees will grow in Pinedale's unique altitude and climate. Trees that die will be replaced in the fall with other species that have shown greater success. We hope that you will have a chance to stop by and see what an amazing difference the trees make and enjoy the natural beauty. Many thanks to all of the organizations that contributed.
Click here for the Superintendent’s blog.
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