Schools

Field Park Celebrates Arbor Day, Plants Hackberry Tree

The winners of the contest sponsored by local former congressman Bill Lipinski also read their prize-winning essays for Field Park's third-, fourth- and fifth-graders.

At Friday morning’s Arbor Day assembly for oldest three grades, school principal Brad Promisel offered a Chinese proverb to summarize the message of the holiday:

“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. But the second-best time is right now.”

And indeed, Western Springs Public Works had already gone ahead and used that second-best time to plant a new hackberry tree on the Howard Avenue parkway in the shadow of the school’s flagpole. (A ceremonial mulch-spreading followed the assembly.)

Find out what's happening in Western Springswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Also in attendance at Field Park on was Jerry Hudson, chief of staff for former congressman Bill Lipinski, who organizes an annual Arbor Day essay contest for 3rd District schools. In his welcome address, Hudson emphasized the critical role trees provide in replenishing the world’s oxygen supply.

“[Arbor Day] is about everything,” Hudson said. “It’s about our environment, what we can do personally. It’s about even doing a little bit, saving this environment and what we need to do for this next generations, because boys and girls, you won’t be the last generation… We can do our little bit in our world—just a little bit—to make it a little bit better.”

Find out what's happening in Western Springswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The winners of that contest—Jacee Brija, seventh grade, of St. Christina and Gwen O’Connell, eighth grade, of St. Cajetan—read their essays aloud from the podium.

And, as is tradition, Judy Gaylord of the Western Springs Garden Club read Joyce Kilmer’s “Trees,” with its famous opening line, “I think that I shall never see/a poem lovely as a tree.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Western Springs