Waukegan Park District celebrates Arbor Day
Submitted by the Waukegan Park District
The Waukegan Park District celebrated Arbor Day April 29 by planting 10 white dogwood trees. The GFWC IL - Waukegan Woman's Club donated the trees to commemorate the day.
Ed Brady and Brad Wedge from the Parks Department were selected to plant the trees. Once the trees reach maturity, they will be transplanted to neighborhood parks across Waukegan.
Traditionally, the Waukegan Park District invites local students to plant trees at parks on Arbor Day. However, due to the pandemic, students from Glen Flora Elementary School submitted questions about trees that were answered virtually by horticulture experts in the parks department. The educational video is available at waukeganparks.org/arborday.
Julius Sterling Morton, who had a passion for planting trees, helped establish the first Arbor Day on April 10, 1872, in Nebraska City, Nebraska. It is estimated that nearly one million trees were planted that day. Today, Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April to encourage individuals to plant trees, and many communities traditionally take the opportunity to organize tree plantings on or around the holiday.
"Trees are of invaluable importance to our environment and are vital for healthy communities," said Jacqueline Herrera Giron, president of the Waukegan Park District Board of Commissioners.
"The Waukegan Park District is thankful for the donation of trees from the GFWC IL - Waukegan Woman's Club, and encourages our community to plant trees in their own yards to help clean our air and to beautify our neighborhoods."
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