Trees grow in Warwick

This past April a group of first grade children and their teachers from Park Avenue Elementary School stood in light rain on Arbor Day, the last Friday of the month, to celebrate the planting of a Yellow Wood tree at the Roger Metzger Arboretum in Stanley-Deming Park.
Mayor Michael Newhard reported that for the 35th consecutive year Warwick had been named a "Tree City, USA." The designation is awarded by the National Arbor Day Foundation.
According to the National Garden Bureau, designation as a Tree City, USA is an asset to any town or village. So are a vital shade tree commission, an inventory of trees, a tree planting and replacement policy and a preservation program. The Village of Warwick qualifies in all areas.
On that day Newhard and Village Shade Tree Commissioner Rob Scheuermann welcomed the school children and explained the virtues of the new tree, which is native to this area.
Guest speaker Patricia Reinhardt, chair of the Arbor Day Committee, a former schoolteacher and member of the Warwick Valley Gardeners, spoke about the origins of the celebration and how the idea, which quickly spread throughout the country, was first observed in Nebraska in 1872.
Several children were then invited to take turns shoveling some dirt to help plant the new tree. And before the children returned to class, Craig Wadeson from Wadeson's Home Center, handed out evergreens donated by his company.
- Roger Gavan