NORTH CALDWELL, New Jersey, April 28, 2023 — Grandview Elementary School students joined with school staff, Principal Dr. Michael Stefanelli, North Caldwell Mayor Joshua H. Raymond, North Caldwell Council President Anthony Floria-Callori, and members of the North Caldwell Partnership for Education (NCPE) and Sponzilli Landscape Group to celebrate Arbor Day.
This event, organized with the help of NCPE, Sponzilli Landscape Group, SiteOne Landscape Supply, and Dan Como & Sons celebrated Arbor Day by planting a tree at Grandview Elementary School.
An educational presentation was provided to the students, and they were then gathered around the tree planting space for the ceremony. A chosen group of students participated in planting, filling in soil, and mulching around the tree.
Arbor Day is a national holiday that brings attention to the crucial role trees play in our environment—and in our enjoyment of life. The goal of the holiday is to encourage all individuals to participate in tree planting activities and spread awareness about the importance of trees.
Trees not only provide shade and building materials. Tree canopies absorb dust and pollutants from the air, helping to keep our air cleaner. They also absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their fibers in a carbon form; this slows the rate of global warming.
Trees also release vital oxygen into the air and offer shelter for precious wildlife.
The first Arbor Day was celebrated on April 10, 1872. J. Sterling Morton, a newspaper editor, and his wife Caroline, came up with the idea for Arbor Day because of the severe lack of trees in the Nebraska Territory. There were very few trees available for building houses, to burn for fuel, or even for shade.
In January 1872, as Secretary of the Nebraska Territory, Morton officially proposed the idea for a tree planting holiday to the State Board of Agriculture. They celebrated the first Arbor Day several months later. Participants planted more than one million trees in Nebraska on that one day.
Arbor Day remains relevant to this day since trees continue to contribute to a healthy and functioning society. The North Caldwell Partnership for Education is happy to support this day by helping students learn about Arbor Day’s history and by planting a new tree in North Caldwell.
NCPE’s mission is to support the education of students in North Caldwell’s Gould and Grandview elementary schools.
Sponzilli Landscape Group is very proud to be a Platinum Sponsor of the North Caldwell Partnership for Education and to lend our support to this Arbor Day celebration.
