Tree Day rounds out activities of 2019 Earth Week in Perry

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Perry’s Earth Week celebration struck roots Friday afternoon when students from the Perry Elementary School and St. Patrick Catholic School celebrated Tree Day.

Perry Parks and Recreation Director John Anderson and Perry Parks Supervisor Kevin Kanealy led the children and their teachers in the planting of two trees, one of school grounds and one in the nearby Wiese Park.

The kids took turns with a hand shovel, digging holes for the four-foot sycamores, while Earth Week sponsor Larry Vodenik, Hy-Vee community events coordinator, told some of the railroad roundhouse history discovered underground during construction of the Perry Elementary School in 1991.

After the new trees were firmly planted, Anderson turned to the city’s new tree spade and explained its operation. Kanealy then gave a brief demonstration by moving the unit’s hydraulic blades.

Anderson also talked about the importance of trees in the Perry Parks and Recreation Department’s planning, and he discussed the development of the city tree nursery and the oncoming threat of an invasive pest, the emerald ash borer.

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 and now includes events in more than 193 countries.

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