St. Albert student arbourists will be back in the fields this month to bring more trees to their backyards.
Grade 1 students from about 15 St. Albert schools will be at Larose Park June 7 and 14 (weather permitting) to plant trees as part of the city’s annual Arbor Day celebrations. Students at another five schools will participate virtually.
This is the first time since 2019 the city has held an in-person Arbor Day event, said city parks operations supervisor Erin Pickard — 2020’s was cancelled due to the pandemic, while 2021’s was all virtual for the same reason. The city has gone with a hybrid format this year as not all schools are ready to do field trips.
As usual, students will plant vast numbers of white spruce, poplar, dogwood, and wild rose plants in and around Larose Park during Arbor Day to create shade, animal habitat, and cleaner air. Students will also receive trees of their own to plant at home. Experts from WILDNorth animal rescue and the city’s park’s department will speak on the benefits of forests, while St. Albert entertainers Rooney and Punyi will sing about trees. Teachers at schools attending virtually will lead classes through similar exercises.
While Arbor Day is invite-only, Pickard said city residents can plant trees of their own at other in-town naturalization events this summer and at the Clean and Green Riverfest this September. Visit the Spruce Up St. Albert page at stalbert.ca for details.
