Bloomingdale students receive trees for Arbor Day
SARANAC LAKE — Up to 150 eastern white pines could take root in the area thanks to an Arbor Day celebration at Bloomingdale Elementary School by Neiderbuhl Bros. Tree Service on Friday.
Gathering in the school auditorium, students watched Jacquelyn Niederbuhl, general manager of the tree service, demonstrate how to plant and care for their new trees.
“Arbor Day started a long time ago, in 1872, and it is a celebration of trees. It’s the day we take to appreciate trees,” Niederbuhl said. “Does anyone know why we need trees? Why are they so important?”
Answers from the kids included: so we can breathe, maple syrup, food, to look at, to keep animals, paper and to make fires.
She said her tree service deals mostly with dangerous trees: those dead, dying or posing a threat to structures or people.
“So a lot of the stuff we come across is pretty much preventable. I kind of wanted to incorporate that,” Niederbuhl said. “A tree never dies of old age, which is the coolest thing. … A lot of people don’t realize that if you just help them along sometimes, you can really make them thrive.”
She ordered the 150 eastern white pines from the Arbor Day Foundation. That particular species, she said, are predominant up here and will last a long time.