Elon Universitys Leisure and Sport Management professor Dr. Jim Drummond paired with senior Samantha Gilman, a student in his senior seminar class, to make Elon a certified Tree City during an Arbor Day celebration last Saturday morning.
According to the National Arbor Day Foundation, the Tree City USA program, sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters, provides direction, technical assistance, public attention and national recognition for urban and community forestry programs in thousands of towns and cities that more than 93 million Americans call home.
Arbor Day is a celebration that campaigns tree-planting events to increase awareness of the importance of city trees. Trees are green infrastructures that create healthier communities throughout the nation. The Arbor Day celebration last weekend was one of the first steps in making Elon a Tree City.
Free hot dogs, drinks and chips provided by Aramark and a bounce house made the event child friendly. Participants planted magnolia trees around the park. Mayor of Elon and the ministries director of annual giving and the Elon Socity Jerry Tolley and Drummond spoke to the crowd about the importance of Arbor Day and its history. Among the rest of the crowd was Mayor Emeritus Beth Schmidt.
%photo2The Girl Scouts who helped us out had such a great time, Carraux said. The big shovels and rakes were bigger than they were.
Two large trees were planted in the park that will be used in Elon Lights Up. The Arbor Day celebration was an event that will help the community become more aware of the environment by drawing attention to tree preservation, Arbor Day and the park itself.
Our senior seminar group expressed that the event was really successful because every child helped plant a tree, Carraux said. There were lots of smiling faces.