Wasilla celebrates Arbor Day

MAT-SU -- The city of Wasilla and the Wasilla Sunrise Rotary celebrated Arbor Day this year with a community program that featured not only tree planting, but also a poster contest, a number of National Arbor Day Foundation awards and guest speaker U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

"These trees won't grow as fast as you or your community, but we need to plant them all the same," Murkowski told the audience, comprised mostly of students from Ron Larson and Iditarod Elementary schools.

The city of Wasilla received two awards from the National Arbor Day Foundation in honor of its commitment to the community forest. For the third year in a row, Wasilla received the Tree City USA Award; this year Wasilla also received the Tree City USA Growth Award for demonstrating progress in its community forest program.

After reading Gov. Frank Murkowski's Arbor Day Proclamation, Urban Forest representative John See spoke Monday about the benefits of planting trees.

"Trees add value to our homes. A large tree absorbs 10 pounds of pollutants, absorbs 760 gallons of rainfall and cleans 330 pounds of carbon dioxide," See said.

Wasilla Mayor Dianne Keller spoke about how trees not only keep the earth clean, but also can play an important part in someone's life.

"I've planted trees in memory of my son's birth, my daughter's death and my father's death," Keller said. "Every time I see them grow, they give me special memories. Trees don't just give us clean air, they bring us feelings."

Along with providing free tree seedlings for students to plant, Wasilla and Wasilla Sunrise Rotary also held an Arbor Day poster contest to help students learn about planting and protecting trees. Iditarod student Natalya Baletskaya won first place in the contest; she received a $1,000 bond, a framed poster and $250 for classroom supplies. Cori Schleich of Ron Larson Elementary School and Gavin Hopkins of Iditarod Elementary won second and third place in the contest. Cub Scout Pack No. 363 handed out the seedlings at the end of the Arbor Day ceremony, which took place Monday on the corner of Nelson Avenue and Wasilla-Fishhook Road.

Contact Jen Ransom at jen.ransom@frontiersman.com.