Planting for the Future
City, state officials join ceremony
Sam Adams from the West Virginia Division of Forestry, right, watches Iris Allen put a tree in the ground at Elkins City Park, alongside Linda Burke, left, and Marilynn Cuonzo.
Submitted photos Elkins Operations Manager Mike Kesecker, far left, plants a tree during an Arbor Day ceremony at Elkins City Park. Looking on are, from left, Sam Adams (West Virginia Division of Forestry), Katy McClane (Friends of Trees), Marilynn Cuonzo (Tree Board Chair), Clare Talbott (Tree Board member), Iris Allen (Tree Board member), Linda Silva (Tree Board Treasurer), and Linda Burke (Tree Board member).
Sam Adams from the West Virginia Division of Forestry, right, watches Iris Allen put a tree in the ground at Elkins City Park, alongside Linda Burke, left, and Marilynn Cuonzo.
Submitted photos Elkins Operations Manager Mike Kesecker, far left, plants a tree during an Arbor Day ceremony at Elkins City Park. Looking on are, from left, Sam Adams (West Virginia Division of Forestry), Katy McClane (Friends of Trees), Marilynn Cuonzo (Tree Board Chair), Clare Talbott (Tree Board member), Iris Allen (Tree Board member), Linda Silva (Tree Board Treasurer), and Linda Burke (Tree Board member).
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ELKINS -- Elkins Operations Manager Mike Kesecker and members from the Elkins Tree Board gathered at Elkins City Park for an Arbor Day celebration.
Kesecker declared Friday as Arbor Day in Elkins by reading a proclamation on behalf of Mayor Jerry Marco.
Also taking part in the event were Katy McClane from the Elkins Friends of Trees organization, and Sam Adams from the West Virginia Division of Forestry. After the proclamation ceremony, the group planted two trees in City Park.
Iris Allen, a dedicated Elkins Tree Board member, told those in attendance that the Arbor Day Foundation distributed 10 million trees to be planted this year. She talked about the numerous benefits the trees will have, both nationally and locally.
"Some of (the benefits) are obvious, such as shade and wildlife habitats," Allen said. "Some of them are not so obvious, such as carbon sequestration, air purification, and stormwater mitigation… The dogwood and the maple we planted, in 20 years together will have absorbed 140 pounds of carbon, prevented 66 gallons of runoff, which we know is very important in Elkins given how rainy it is, and will have removed over 1.5 pounds of air pollution. That's just from these two trees, in a space that's already pretty green, in 20 years. So think about those millions and millions of trees and how many benefits all of these trees have provided."
Adams, an urban forester with the Division of Forestry, presented the City of Elkins with a Tree City USA Flag in recognition of its dedication to tree conservation. Adams also commended Elkins for its commitment to maintaining a healthy urban forest.
Arbor Day serves as a reminder to protect and preserve the environment for future generations. The City of Elkins encourages all citizens to join in the observance of Arbor Day by participating in tree-planting initiatives and supporting efforts to conserve and appreciate our invaluable trees.
"Trees give us a lot," Allen said. "In return, we can think about some of the things we can do to support trees, such as supporting our urban forest by planting native trees that are well suited to their location."
National Arbor Day, which dates back to 1872, is observed each year on the last Friday in April and is celebrated to encourage groups and individuals to plant trees on the annual spring holiday.