ReGreen Springfield

City Forester Ed Casey (right) teaches students at Elias Brookings School about the importance of trees.

Students at the Elias Brookings school showed their commitment to the environment by celebrating Arbor Day on Friday April 27th.  Students in the fifth grade classes performed songs and dressed up as trees to show their appreciation for the many benefits that trees bring to our community.  Joining principal Terry Powe were Alan Ingram, Superintendent of Springfield Schools,  Densie Jordan, Chief of Staff for Mayor Domenic Sarno, and representatives from Congressmen Richard Neal’s offices.

Ed Casey, City Forester, was on hand to teach the students about the importance of trees and to plant a tree at the school building.  After the program, the students went outside to help plant the horsechestnut tree.  Mr. Casey also gave every student at the school a white pine seedling to take home and plant.  To learn more about Arbor Day visit the Arbor Day Foundation website at: http://www.arborday.org/arborday/

The Paperboard Packaging Council, which is headquartered in the Sovereign Bank building on Court Square downtown, assisted representatives of the city’s forestry department and ReGreen Springfield, Inc. in planting a Princeton Elm tree at the far end of Court Square Park on Wednesday, April 18, 2012.

The Paperboard Packaging Council was the first entity to step forward to offer to donate money last June to the City of Springfield to help replace some of the trees lost in last year’s devastating tornado.

Following the event, members of the Paperboard Packaging Council handed out tree saplings free to the community.

The tree planting coincides with the Council’s annual Trees Into Cartons, Cartons Into Trees program, in which PPC members from across the country and Canada help to educate students and their community about the environmental benefits of trees and the importance of recycling.