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| Arbor Day Celebration 2009 At 1:30 on the 12th, the “transportation team” moved the tree from the orchard to the planting site in front of the school on the yellow cart. This was no small accomplishment considering it weighed about 200 pounds. Once the tree had arrived, Mrs. Krenek made a few comments and thanked the students for their hard work and generosity in giving the tree. She then introduced Gudrun Opperman, a local community volunteer who acts as Oak Forest’s plant expert. Mrs. Opperman gave a short talk about the importance of observing Arbor Day, its history, and the importance of each person taking responsibility for replacing trees lost to hurricanes, development and old age. The students learned that Arbor Day was first observed in the 1870’s in Nebraska by J. Sterling Morton and over the years has spread all over the world. She indicated that in Houston the goal is to plant one million trees this year and the 5th graders are part of this process. After the history lesson, it was time for the “planters” to take action. This team managed to pull and push the tree from the cart to the edge of the hole. With a giant tug and some help from Mr. Opperman, the team removed the tree from the 30-gallon container that had been its home for many months. It was placed in the middle of the hole, some soil amendments were added, and the job of filling the hole began by the “closer team”. At that point the “watering team” also sprung into action carrying many buckets of water to aid in filling the hole with moist soil. Finally after all the soil had been replaced, the “mulch crew” finished the job by putting a barrier of mulch in a well shape around the tree. When all the mulch was in place a big cheer erupted from the students. Job well done! The plaque was then unveiled listing the name of the tree, a Shumard Oak, also known as Quercus shumardii. It is a deciduous tree, should grow to at least 75 feet with a large crown. It will have stunning red fall color. Its acorns will be about 1 inch long and eventually will be food for much of the wildlife on campus. Other members of the 5th grade class will continue to water the tree during the next few months until it gets established in its new home. The new tree joins five other trees planted by previous 5th grade classes in front of the school and over 125 other trees that have been planted on campus in the past several years. And a special “Thank You” to 5th grade teachers, Mrs. Krenek, Mrs. Johnson, Ms. Curtis, and Mrs. Dixon and all the parents and garden helpers who made this year’s event a success. |
