Arbor Day Observed At Primary School

Chronicle (Levin), 15 June 1948, Page 4

Arbor Day Observed At Primary School

Eortyvfour n.atiye trees - anb shrubs wefe yesterday ahdod to thP Levin Rrimary SQhoora , native plant niuseum; which adjoins the school grbunds, when Arbor Day was observed by the children, _ : The" day. was observed earlier this year as this month |s piore snitgble fqr the planting out of native trees.

Present at the function were Messrs. I; D. Parsons, president of the Levin Native Flqra C!ub> A- wParton, president of the Levin and djstrict -Beautifying Socfety, C, S.; Black, secretary of the Beautifying. Socigty, and N. E. Barnett, agricultural ins'tructor for the Educatioh Board. Also Mesdames P, Parsons and A. Sfewart, of the. Levin Native. Flora Club, and Mesdames L. J. Travers ahd W, Lett,. of the Leyin Uofticultural Boeiety, Before the function Mrs, Lett V m~\ sented the school with two native trees, a totara and a karaka. ' Addressing the schopl pUplls; the Ucting headmaster, Mr. A. D. Chapman, t.pld the children of the purpose pf Arbor Day and w'eieo'rnedj the visitors. It was yery pieasihg, he said, to see present represeniatives of all bodies interested in native .trees and flowers.

Speaking to the children, Mr. I. p. Parsons said that the people of Levin had the greatest opportunity of studying natiVe pfants. Nowhere' ip New Zealand was there a greater'chance of seeing plant life from the sand dunes to the mgunts.in tops all in ope day. . '* Arbor Day had originated from! qn idea of a United, States citizen' back in 1872, said Mr. A- W. P^r.ton,. This man, who came frhm'the State Of Nebraska, had been concerned' at the bareness of the hills and had said that sopiething should be done about thenj. He had. arrangedcompetitions in tree planting among the various bodies, and had iset aside April 1 as the tree planting day fbr his State". In 16' years the" State had changed from one, •of the piost desolate -to the best in' the United States, till foday j 600,000,000 trees -covered the face of Nebraska. Tree planting w.a:s j.ust another little duty of citizen- j ship in which every person had the . opportunity of making his country prettier, concluded Mr. Parton. - - After the acting headmaster had thanked the visitors again f or coming along, the members of the native flora classes marched ov.er to the school's native tree plantation, and the visitors were each asked to plant a tree., .Later -the remainder of the .trees' and shrubs w.ere pLanteh by the .children under thc supervisioh, of Mr. parne'tt, who also addfess^d, the .cbi'ldren on the ,be§t way to' pi'ant naffye, tfees. •The, 4ay's; actiyities .^Pbcjucje^ with the .children partjpipa&bg in the planting of a hedge 'on the northern boundary of th'e planta.tion. t; .