Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Kimball city employee John Heidemann explains the procedure of how to plant a tree to a group of fourth-graders, while city employee Stacy Daily prepares to remove a tree from the bucket. The students helped with the planting process.
"Planting a tree is one of the most selfless acts you can do. You never plant it for yourself. You are planting it so future generations will be able to enjoy the shade of the tree."
This quote or thought was expressed by many during Kimball's Arbor Day planting ceremony, including Kimball Street Superintendent Jim Shoup, Mayor Keith Prunty and park employee John Heidemann.
Prunty addressed the fourth-grade students and read the official proclamation making April 29 Arbor Day. This year commemorates 150 years of celebrating Arbor Day, which was started in Nebraska by J. Morton Sterling, but is now observed in most states and many countries.
Hilary Cook from the Natural Resource Conservation Services provided some background information for the students on the history of Arbor Day.
Then the real work began of planting the six trees – three pine trees, and three shade trees.
Shoup explained, "We are going to plant these trees, you are going to get your hands dirty, and you are going to rip the roots apart. The best thing we can do for this tree is to have all the roots going this way."
This brought cheers from the students.
As all the students helped in some way either by holding the tree in place, packing around it, or watering it. The hope is that they, the students, will have invested in the park and learned the value of trees.