Mundelein students help plant tree for Arbor Day

To make Arbor Day more exciting, Mundelein village arborist Adam Schmidt let the Washington Early Learning Center second grade students decide which trees to plant at the school.

They chose a northern Catalpa and an eastern redbud.

On Friday, the students witnessed the northern Catalpa planting by Schmidt on the school's west side. A few lucky students got to help fill the hole with dirt. The redbud was planted earlier, along with a third tree, a black Tupelo.

Before the planting, Mayor Steve Lentz read an Arbor Day proclamation and school Principal Jim Kallieris announced winners of a writing and artwork contest. Those students shared their work before the crowd.

To close out the program, students in Farida Matias' class presented an Arbor Day play, and students received a seedling they can plant at home.

In his proclamation, Lentz encouraged "all residents to celebrate Arbor Day and to support efforts to protect our trees and woodlands, urge residents to plant and care for trees to promote the well-being of this and future generations."