ANSBACH, Germany (May 27, 2015) -- Bryan Osewalt, Ansbach Elementary School administrative officer, and Gerda Koss, acting environmental division chief, help to erect the plaque to symbolize the planting of the maple tree by the AES PRIDE Club Arbor ...
[Editor's note: Alyssa Saunders is a journalism student at Ansbach High School.]
ANSBACH, Germany (May 27, 2015) -- A field maple was planted at Ansbach Elementary School to commemorate Arbor Day April 24.
Members of the Ansbach Elementary School PRIDE Club; Roger Saunders, the club's sponsor; Collette Tate, AES principal; and three members of the U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach Environmental Management Division gathered at the AES playground to learn about family memories and tree lifespans.
At the conclusion, adults and students worked together to plant and water the tree.
The event began with Tate speaking of the lifespan of trees and how the rings inside of a tree's trunk can indicate its age as well as how healthy the tree is. She also spoke of the scars trees have from disasters such as drought or bug infestation.
Tate then introduced Saunders, who gave a speech about his memory of planting a tree with his grandfather.
"Every year on the day after or on Earth Day, Grandpa and I would plant a tree," said Saunders. "A lot of things happen in our lives. We don't have rings -- we have memories."
Nastasia Wanat, who works with EMD, shared with AES students the species of the tree being planted -- a field maple. Wanat also spoke of the importance of trees, such as their ability to produce oxygen and filtering dust.
The PRIDE Club members each wrote something about themselves on a piece of paper, which was put into a jar. The jar was buried next to the tree. Each PRIDE Club member had the opportunity to scoop a shovel of soil into the hole with the tree. Flowers were then planted next to the donated field maple.
Ansbach Elementary School students plant field maple
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