Arbor Day Is Every Day At Levin Primary School

Chronicle (Levin), 5 August 1949, Page 4

Arbor Day Is Every Day At Levin Primary School

Although not the ofiiciai observance of Arbor Day, the children of the^ative flbra class at the Levin Primary School were out in force yesterday planting trees and shrubs in their' own little native plot behind the school buildings. With them were the acting headmaster, -Mr. P. D. Chapman, and several interested citizens whp had volunteered to identify those specimens which have not been labelled. The school intends this year to. enter the plot for the Loder Cup and Bledisloe Silver C|iallenge- Trophy and Gold Medal. This is the first time the school' has entered for eifher J of these competitions. .

The Loder Cup was presented by the late Gerald W. Loder (Lord Wakehurst, of Sussex, England) in 1926 to lovers of nature in New Zealand as a chaTenge cup, the conditions of which were to have the approval of the Minister of Agriculture in whose custody the trophy was placed. ■. . Any firm, company, society, local body or association of persons may be nominated . for the award by stipulated horticultural institutions and the cup is given to the one considered by the committee to have done the most by word or deed in that year towards the encouragement of the cultivation and preservation of New Zealand flora. The Bledisloe trophy and medal is given annually to the garden showing the best and most attractive use of New Zealand p^nts. Seen ih -bright* sunshine yesterday, it was evident that the Levin School's plot should stand a good chance of meeting with these requirements. A big task confronting the group at work • was that of identifying and marking some 240 trees and shrubs which hitherto had in many cases lost their identi-

fication plates. The identification was carried out by Mr. and Mrs. I. D. Parsons, • of the Levin Native Flora Club, and Mr. w. S. Wilkinson, past caretaker of Kapiti Island and now president of the Levin Horticultural Society. - The scientifie names and* the common names in Maori and English were printed on special tin 'abels by the acting headmaster,, the labels having been made by the woodwork classes and painted by boys of the native flora class. The year the tree was planted was also added and where no date was available an approximate one was given. "Where the shrubs and trees were 'too small to have labels

affixed, wooden identification crosses were placed alongside them. One of the oldest trees in the reserve is a totara donated in 1934 by Mrs. A. C. Kennerley. 1 Mr. Chapman said that the accomplishment* of this work would be greatly appreciated by the children- as they could derive much more benefit from the plantation in the future knowing afl the varfeties at a glance. As for the trees themselves, he. said it. would be 20 years . before there was a real appreciation oftheir worth- It would theh". un--doubted'y be one of the beauty spots of Levin and a paradise for lovers of native flora. : , ' lA ton" of manure had reCently been worked inio the plot, continued Mr. Chapman, and the; removal of large trees along the. fenceline had benefited in the trees and. shrubs considerably? Mr. Chapman said"that , the observance of Arbor Day was to have taken place in June to suit trees already ordered. Unfortunately, the weather at that time was too unfavourable for an official ceremony and the trees had been informally planted. It was obvious to a reporter who viewed the children at work yesterday, however, that an appreciation of . our native trees is far from 'lacking at the school. The native flora group is a very keen and energetic one and this has inspired local native flora enthusiasts to encourage them as much as pos-r sible by active participation, friendly advice and donations of trees and shrubs. Mr. and Mrs. Parsons being two of the most ardent supporters. From periodical visits & reporter has made — once he was called on to plant a tree himself — he is now quite convinced that every day is i Arbor Day at the Levin School.