Sharing the beauty of trees while encouraging students to care for the natural environment was the focus of this year's Arbor Day celebration Friday morning at Palatka High School.
Twenty students from David Brown's agriscience class planted two 15-foot live oak trees near the main entrance of the school while school staff, garden club members, guests and local dignitaries watched under overcast skies.
Palatka High student Hunter Winkleman, 16, said being a part of the agriscience program helps build character, especially through programs like Arbor Day.
"Some students don't have the chance to build character at home," he said "This shows the community we have pride in what the school looks like, and planting trees helps the environment."
The Palatka Arbor Day celebration was sponsored by the city of Palatka, the Garden Club of Palatka and the Putnam County Forestry Unit.
According to Lynda Eidson, Arbor Day should remind the community, including youth, of the importance of trees in the environment.
"We like for students to take part so that they can learn about trees," said Eidson, who is chairman of the garden club's Arbor Day event. "We have planted trees at local schools and involve the students in taking care of the trees."
The club also participated in tree-planting on Thursday at Browning-Pearce and Moseley schools and planted another tree at the Children's Reading Center on Friday afternoon.
Palatka High Assistant Principal Mechele Higginbotham thanked the sponsors and donors.
"As we work to instill a sense of pride in our students for their school, this shows that our community shares in our efforts," she said in an e-mail following the ceremony.
Palatka Mayor Vernon Myers read a proclamation naming Jan. 21, 2011, as Arbor Day in Palatka. The proclamation encouraged all citizens to support efforts to protect trees and woodlands.
Jeff Norton, city parks director, presented Palatka High School with a banner recognizing Palatka as a Tree City U.S.A., an honor the town has received for the past 20 years. Kurt Stoughton, county forester with the Putnam County Division of Forestry, handed out free Shumard oak, sawtooth oak, sycamore and southern magnolia seedlings.
Ag student Jessie Dampier, 17, helped plant the trees.
"We need trees for a lot of things," she said. "We need them to live and for air and paper. When I see the trees it will remind me of that."
Freshman Bud Tilton, 14, said he feels a lot of pride in taking part in planting the trees at his school.
"I put a lot of work into it," he said. "Years from now, I'd like to come back and see the trees and what other students think of them."
Other Arbor Day celebrations were held on Friday in Interlachen at Lake Lagonda and in Crescent City at Miller Intermediate School in the community/children's garden.
The Tree Board, the town of Interlachen, the Forestry Department and the Rainbow Garden Club, sponsored the Interlachen event. Tree seedlings were given out.
Crescent City's Garden Board and the Putnam County Master Gardeners sponsored Arbor Day in the South Putnam town. This is the sixth year that Crescent City has been named a Tree City
Eidson was thankful for everyone involved who showed their support despite the threat of rain and overcast skies.
"We want to thank the city of Palatka and the Garden Club of Palatka for providing the trees that were planted at Palatka High School," she said. We appreciate everyone who did come out and we appreciate the ag class for planting the trees. They did a great job. And we never complain about the rain if we're gardeners. We're happy to have it."
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