Digging In: Youngsters Plant Seedlings to Mark Arbor Day

Children had the chance to follow in the footsteps of Julius Sterling Morton, who planted the seeds of what was to become Arbor Day more than 100 years ago, at Saturday’s Arbor Day program at the .

“This is the second year of a cooperative community program between the Bridgewater Shade Tree Board and the Bridgewater/Somerset County Library to help raise awareness, provide education and family activity to instill a desire for tree care, maintenance and preservation,” said Barbara Ronca, chairperson of the shade tree board.

“It is just one more effort to preserve the local environment and keep it green,” she added.

About a dozen children ranging in age from four to eight listened as youth services librarian Linda Tripp read several books about trees and why they are important.

Ronca told the story of the history of Arbor Day, with roots going back to Morton planting trees in Nebraska a century ago. It was named a national day by President Richard Nixon, and is officially marked each year on the last Friday of April.

For 15 years, Ronca said, Bridgewater has earned recognition as being a “Tree City USA.”

At several stations around the room, participants and their parents took part in hands-on Arbor Day activities, including making leaf rubbings, examining tree parts with a magnifying glass and completing tree-related activity sheets.

The children selected white pine and Norway spruce seedlings—all donated by the shade tree board—which they planted in cups to take home, care for and add to their yards.

Near the end, the Bridgewater Shade Tree Board held a random drawing for a book about trees, a copy of which was also donated to the library. The winner of the book was Andre Dutta, 3, of Bridgewater.