Arbor Day With the Environmental Club

This is Boggy, the frog that lives in the courtyard at Bradley’s school. The kids in the Environmental Club begged me to take his picture. Here you go!

The courtyard sundial: “Time began in a garden.”

As I was walking through the school on the way to Edgar field to watch the Metuchen Shade Tree Commission’s planting of new trees, this artwork in the hallway struck me as appropriate for an Arbor Day greeting.

What’s it like to be a root system? Only one way to find out.

Even the Mayor of Metuchen, Thomas Valhalla, left, came to watch the Shade Tree Commission and the planting of the trees! We are very proud of our town’s distinction as a Tree City USA.

Every tree was carefully documented and measured, even going so far as to plot its precise position using a GPS locator. If these trees aren’t batted too many times with baseballs, they will be the focal point of many a science lesson over the next several decades. The plan is that the children will take the trees’ pictures every year, and document their growth.

I love this stuff! Click here for the red sunset red maple in my yard.

Lots of children from the Edgar School Environmental Club (that’s Bradley in the blue striped shirt!) and the YMCA were available to help with the digging…

…there are SIX shovels in this picture!

That’s the tree that was planted next to the bleachers — a red sunset red maple.

It will grow to around 50 feet tall and 40 feet wide! (I have faith.)

I did not lift a finger except my shutter finger, but these guys were working! Bradley loves Environmental Club! I am so proud of all the kids. They worked really hard! And they listened carefully to the adults’ directions and lessons on planting trees.

Once planted, every tree was given a quick watering. It’s supposed to rain this weekend. Perfect!

This shot is WAY over-tilted but I still like it because I love seeing all those kids working so hard to plant trees.

Now THAT’S a nice action shot!

I guess I’m not the only person drawn to baby leaves.

I don’t know all the details, but I overheard that a total of eight trees were planted: red maples in the field, and some other varieties in the parking lot circle.

Will the leaves grow much bigger this year? We’ll have to come back in a month or two to find out.

That’s a dogwood in the parking lot circle. (“Oooooh! Not a redwood!”) Other trees planted here include magnolia, redbud and maple.

The trees were photographed with a person in the shot for scale.

Time out for a reality check: I need to get on my soapbox a minute. These little trees are planted in the pathway of children running to get on the bus after school. If the trees are going to survive, they need a barricade to keep kids from trampling them! (Pardon my ignorance if a barricade is already in the plan.)

May you live a long, happy life, little dogwood!

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