Holyoke Boys and Girls members help plant a tree during the Arbor Day celebration in Holyoke.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet
HOLYOKE — The city of Holyoke, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and Eagle Eye Institute gathered at Holyoke Heritage State Park on May 7 to recognize and celebrate Arbor Day.
Arbor Day was celebrated in Nebraska in 1872 and since then, has grown to be celebrated by many cities and towns throughout the country.
Urban Forester Sarah Greenleaf of the Massachusetts DCR Greening the Gateway Cities Program talked about the importance of Arbor Day.
She stated, “This holiday is important because it celebrates trees, and more specifically, it celebrates planting trees, which is [an] incredibly important part of any healthy city, is the constant replenishing of the urban forest. As trees age out and have to be removed, it’s so incredibly important to be planting the next generation of trees.”
Greening the Gateway Cities Program plant trees in Holyoke, Chicopee and Westfield. Greenleaf said that they have been adding trees for over a decade in Holyoke with close to 3,000 trees being planted.
“All the trees in all the cities in the country provide billions of dollars in benefits when it comes to carbon sequestration and cooling and energy in buildings and cleaning the air and stormwater management,” Greenleaf said.
Nuestras Raices Development and Community Partnership Director Jason Comcowich also explained that the city has active federal funding for the U.S. Forest Service to do an urban tree project.
He and his office will be convening an urban tree care coalition of residents from different areas in Holyoke to implement an urban forest equity plan.
She explained her program plants trees at no cost to recipients in a majority of Holyoke.
Those interested in plating a free tree at their property can visit mass.gov.
Eagle Eye Institute Program Director Kira Jewett said the purpose of her organization is to provide learning opportunities for all youth to experience wellbeing, belonging and elopement through a relationship with nature.
“All we have to do is look around this beautiful park to see how important green spaces are to the community. This place is a jewel and it’s a gathering space,” Jewett stated.
Members of the Holyoke Boys and Girls Chapter of Eagle Club were also at the event to share their favorite facts about trees and how they benefit the environment.
Eagle Eye Institute Founders Anthony Sanchez and MaJa Kietzke explained they started Eagle Eye Institute with the hope of connecting the youth with nature and with one another.
They were both at the event sharing some words of wisdom and a few inspiring poems with the youth.
The event concluded with a proclamation read by Mayor Joshua Garcia declaring it Arbor Day in the city. The proclamation had the original words read in Nebraska in 1872.
Members of the DCR also planted a tree with help from members of the Boys and Girls Club.
