Delaware News

Arbor Day 2019: Poster Contest Winners and Community Events

Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | Kent County | New Castle County | Sussex County | Date Posted: Thursday, April 18, 2019



Ellie Merrick, a fifth-grader at Southern Delaware School of the Arts in Selbyville, won the 2019 Arbor Day School Poster Contest.

Almost 100 years before Earth Day, Arbor Day was established on April 10, 1872 by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska City, Nebraska. It is believed more than one million trees were planted on the first Arbor Day. In Delaware, Arbor Day is traditionally celebrated on the last Friday in April, which falls on April 26, 2019. This year, the Delaware Forest Service will help Dover celebrate its 30th Anniversary as a Tree City USA by planting more than 30 trees at parks and streets throughout the city.

DOVER, Del. — Ellie Merrick, a 5th-grader at Southern Delaware School of the Arts in Selbyville, has been named the State Winner of the Delaware Forest Service’s 2019 Arbor Day Poster Contest. This year’s theme – “Trees Are Terrific…in Cities and Towns!” – was chosen to highlight the benefits of trees in our communities .The annual Arbor Day Poster Contest is open to Delaware students in grades K-5 in all public, private, charter, and home schools. Winners receive a tree-themed book, a free tree planting ceremony at their school (courtesy of sponsor Delmarva Power) and an invitation for them and their families to attend the State Arbor Day Ceremony with Governor Carney in Dover on April 26.

Winners were selected by a panel of judges for each county (New Castle, Kent, Sussex) in the following grade categories: kindergarten, grades 1-2, grades 3-4, and grade 5. Posters were judged on originality, use of theme, neatness, and artistic expression. The Arbor Day Poster Contest is designed to teach students about the role of trees and their direct impact on the health and well-being of Delaware residents.

View the complete gallery of 2019 Delaware Arbor Day Poster Contest Winners.

2019 Delaware Arbor Day Poster Contest Winners

New Castle  
Kindergarten Avery Thomas — Cedar Lane Early Childhood Ctr., Middletown
Grades 1-2 Lydia Sperati — Jennie Smith Elementary, Newark
Grades 3-4 Patricia Gomes —  All Saints Catholic School, Wilmington
Grade 5 Jayden Fuller  — Brandywine Springs Elementary, Wilmington
Kent  
Kindergarten Abigail Carter — McIlvaine Early Childhood Ctr., Magnolia
Grades 1-2 Bella Cooper — Allen Frear Elementary, Camden
Grades 3-4 Sarah Armstrong —  Allen Frear Elementary, Camden
Grade 5 Sophia Yuckel  — Allen Frear Elementary, Camden
Sussex  
Kindergarten Loana Marquez Mendez — H.O. Brittingham Elem., Milton
Grades 1-2 Zoe Bontrager-Thomas — Mispillion Elementary, Milford
Grades 3-4 Ava Strong — Southern Delaware School of Arts, Selbyville
Grade 5 Ellie Merrick  — Southern Delaware School of Arts, Selbyville

 

The Delaware Forest Service also distributes free pine seedlings annually to Delaware elementary school children on a first-come, first-served basis. Once again, RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) volunteers from the Modern Maturity Center of Dover help to wrap thousands of seedlings to distribute to schoolchildren throughout the First State.

RSVP volunteers seedling wrap
Volunteers from Dover’s Modern Maturity Center RSVP Program  helped wrap thousands of pine seedlings for Delaware schoolchildren for Arbor Day activities.

Planned 2019 Arbor Day Events in Delaware

  • City of New Castle
    Friday April 26 – 10 a.m. – 4th & Chestnut, New Castle
    Tree planting and Arbor Day Ceremony
  • Delaware State University, Dover
    Friday April 26 – 11 a.m. – MLK, Jr. Student Center
    “Arbor Day Tree Planting on DSU Campus”
  • City of Lewes – 150th Arbor Day Celebration
    Saturday, April 27 at 10 a.m. – George H.P. Smith Park – Arbor Day Planting
    *** Also: free tree seminar at the Margaret H. Rollins Community Center at 111 Adams Ave.  
  • Town of Ocean View
    Friday, April 26, 2019 at 2 p.m. – John West Park
    “Town of Ocean View Celebrates Arbor Day” – John West Park, 32 West Ave., Ocean View. Boy Scouts from Troop 281 will assist members of the Ocean View Town Council in planting several trees in the Park. There will be educational engagement opportunities and some fun Arbor Day activities for families until 6 p.m. including a youth art project and family photo-ops sporting Hug-A-Tree and Earth Day themes! The first 50 interested participants will get a free redbud seedling.
  • Bayside, Fenwick Island
    Friday, April 26 – 9:00 a.m. – 31252 Americana Pkwy., Selbyville
    Arbor Day Event and Tree Planting
  • City of Rehoboth Beach
    Arbor Day Tree Planting
    Monday, April 29 – Rehoboth Beach Elementary School
  • City of Milford – 16th Annual Bug & Bud Festival
    Saturday, May 4 – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Walnut St., Front Streets and the Mispillion Riverwalk in historic downtown Milford, Delaware.
    Expected to attract more than 9,000 visitors this year, the Bug & Bud Festival serves as a celebration of Arbor Day, the City of Milford’s designation as a Tree City U.S.A. and Milford’s role in the ladybug’s designation as the State Bug of Delaware.
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Arbor Day 2019: Poster Contest Winners and Community Events

Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | Kent County | New Castle County | Sussex County | Date Posted: Thursday, April 18, 2019



Ellie Merrick, a fifth-grader at Southern Delaware School of the Arts in Selbyville, won the 2019 Arbor Day School Poster Contest.

Almost 100 years before Earth Day, Arbor Day was established on April 10, 1872 by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska City, Nebraska. It is believed more than one million trees were planted on the first Arbor Day. In Delaware, Arbor Day is traditionally celebrated on the last Friday in April, which falls on April 26, 2019. This year, the Delaware Forest Service will help Dover celebrate its 30th Anniversary as a Tree City USA by planting more than 30 trees at parks and streets throughout the city.

DOVER, Del. — Ellie Merrick, a 5th-grader at Southern Delaware School of the Arts in Selbyville, has been named the State Winner of the Delaware Forest Service’s 2019 Arbor Day Poster Contest. This year’s theme – “Trees Are Terrific…in Cities and Towns!” – was chosen to highlight the benefits of trees in our communities .The annual Arbor Day Poster Contest is open to Delaware students in grades K-5 in all public, private, charter, and home schools. Winners receive a tree-themed book, a free tree planting ceremony at their school (courtesy of sponsor Delmarva Power) and an invitation for them and their families to attend the State Arbor Day Ceremony with Governor Carney in Dover on April 26.

Winners were selected by a panel of judges for each county (New Castle, Kent, Sussex) in the following grade categories: kindergarten, grades 1-2, grades 3-4, and grade 5. Posters were judged on originality, use of theme, neatness, and artistic expression. The Arbor Day Poster Contest is designed to teach students about the role of trees and their direct impact on the health and well-being of Delaware residents.

View the complete gallery of 2019 Delaware Arbor Day Poster Contest Winners.

2019 Delaware Arbor Day Poster Contest Winners

New Castle  
Kindergarten Avery Thomas — Cedar Lane Early Childhood Ctr., Middletown
Grades 1-2 Lydia Sperati — Jennie Smith Elementary, Newark
Grades 3-4 Patricia Gomes —  All Saints Catholic School, Wilmington
Grade 5 Jayden Fuller  — Brandywine Springs Elementary, Wilmington
Kent  
Kindergarten Abigail Carter — McIlvaine Early Childhood Ctr., Magnolia
Grades 1-2 Bella Cooper — Allen Frear Elementary, Camden
Grades 3-4 Sarah Armstrong —  Allen Frear Elementary, Camden
Grade 5 Sophia Yuckel  — Allen Frear Elementary, Camden
Sussex  
Kindergarten Loana Marquez Mendez — H.O. Brittingham Elem., Milton
Grades 1-2 Zoe Bontrager-Thomas — Mispillion Elementary, Milford
Grades 3-4 Ava Strong — Southern Delaware School of Arts, Selbyville
Grade 5 Ellie Merrick  — Southern Delaware School of Arts, Selbyville

 

The Delaware Forest Service also distributes free pine seedlings annually to Delaware elementary school children on a first-come, first-served basis. Once again, RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) volunteers from the Modern Maturity Center of Dover help to wrap thousands of seedlings to distribute to schoolchildren throughout the First State.

RSVP volunteers seedling wrap
Volunteers from Dover’s Modern Maturity Center RSVP Program  helped wrap thousands of pine seedlings for Delaware schoolchildren for Arbor Day activities.

Planned 2019 Arbor Day Events in Delaware

  • City of New Castle
    Friday April 26 – 10 a.m. – 4th & Chestnut, New Castle
    Tree planting and Arbor Day Ceremony
  • Delaware State University, Dover
    Friday April 26 – 11 a.m. – MLK, Jr. Student Center
    “Arbor Day Tree Planting on DSU Campus”
  • City of Lewes – 150th Arbor Day Celebration
    Saturday, April 27 at 10 a.m. – George H.P. Smith Park – Arbor Day Planting
    *** Also: free tree seminar at the Margaret H. Rollins Community Center at 111 Adams Ave.  
  • Town of Ocean View
    Friday, April 26, 2019 at 2 p.m. – John West Park
    “Town of Ocean View Celebrates Arbor Day” – John West Park, 32 West Ave., Ocean View. Boy Scouts from Troop 281 will assist members of the Ocean View Town Council in planting several trees in the Park. There will be educational engagement opportunities and some fun Arbor Day activities for families until 6 p.m. including a youth art project and family photo-ops sporting Hug-A-Tree and Earth Day themes! The first 50 interested participants will get a free redbud seedling.
  • Bayside, Fenwick Island
    Friday, April 26 – 9:00 a.m. – 31252 Americana Pkwy., Selbyville
    Arbor Day Event and Tree Planting
  • City of Rehoboth Beach
    Arbor Day Tree Planting
    Monday, April 29 – Rehoboth Beach Elementary School
  • City of Milford – 16th Annual Bug & Bud Festival
    Saturday, May 4 – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Walnut St., Front Streets and the Mispillion Riverwalk in historic downtown Milford, Delaware.
    Expected to attract more than 9,000 visitors this year, the Bug & Bud Festival serves as a celebration of Arbor Day, the City of Milford’s designation as a Tree City U.S.A. and Milford’s role in the ladybug’s designation as the State Bug of Delaware.
image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , , ,


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.