County Winners

New Castle County

Kent County

Kindergarten
Sara Carney
Clayton Elementary

Grade 1 and 2
Eliana Oberdick
W.B. Simpson Elementary

Grade 3 and 4
Katelyn Bredesen
Allen Frear Elementary

Grade 5
Ziad Rasamny
Allen Frear Elementary

Sussex County

2021 Contest Theme: “Trees are Terrific… In Many Wonderful Ways!”

DOVER — The Delaware Forest Service is seeking entries for its annual “Arbor Day School Poster Contest” – open to students in grades K to 5 from all Delaware public, private, home school, after-school, and other organized youth groups. Winning posters will be selected from each of the three counties in the following categories: kindergarten, grades 1 and 2, grades 3 and 4, and grade 5. The twelve winners will be recognized at the annual Statewide Arbor Day Celebration and receive a tree planting ceremony at their school to celebrate Arbor Day. Deadline to register is March 15. Posters must be submitted by April 1.

The poster contest is designed to increase student knowledge about forests and forest resources. For teachers, the poster contest can be an ideal way for students to learn more about the role of trees in our communities and their direct impact on Delawareans’ health and well-being. The schoolyard is a perfect setting to incorporate the role of trees into your everyday curriculum. Trees not only provide beauty, shade, and habitat and food for wildlife, they also improve air quality, muffle noise, moderate air temperatures, filter runoff into streams and rivers, and reduce energy consumption.

Important Links

• View the 2021 Arbor Day Poster Contest Rules and Guidelines
• Register by March 15 at the Arbor Day Poster Registration Site
• Download the 2021 Arbor Day Poster Contest Flyer.

Criteria

Posters will be judged on originality, use of theme, neatness, and artistic expression.

Classroom Resources

Teachers can access the shared Google folder for  Teacher Resource Shared Google Drive and additional resources.

Free Seedlings

All participating classes will receive free loblolly pine seedlings delivered to their schools, just in time to celebrate Arbor Day!

Registration

Arbor Day Poster Registration Site

Questions:

Ashley Melvin, Delaware Forest Service
(302) 698-4551

ashley.melvin@delaware.gov

Dates to Remember:

• Deadline to register and reserve free seedlings: March 15
• Deadline to submit posters for state contest: April 1
• Arbor Day in Delaware: April 30
• Seedling delivery: mid-April

Established by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska in 1872, Arbor Day is an annual occasion to encourage everyone to plant trees and celebrate the numerous benefits that trees provide. In Delaware, the last Friday of April is traditionally observed as “Arbor Day.”

In 2019, the Delaware Forest Service hosted its annual Arbor Day Ceremony at Dover’s Schutte Park, honoring its school poster contest winners and recognizing Dover’s 30th Year as the First State’s longest-running Tree City USA. The event culminated with the planting of more than 30 large trees at six locations, including a zelkova on the historic Green on State Street. Delaware State University also held its Arbor Day event and is now celebrating its 9th consecutive year as Delaware’s only certified Tree Campus USA. Check out the 2019 Arbor Day photos on Flickr or at the Delaware Forest Service Facebook Page.

Previous Winners:

• View 2019 Arbor Day Poster Winners
• View 2018 Arbor Day Contest Winners
• View 2017 Arbor Day Contest Winners
• View 2016 Arbor Day Contest Winners
• View 2015 Arbor Day Contest Winners
• View 2014 Arbor Day Contest Winners

For more information, email: Ashley Melvin

Arbor Day observances are also an integral part of community recognition programs such as Tree Campus USA, Tree City USA, and Delaware’s Tree Friendly Community Award, as well as qualifying for a financial award from the Urban Grant Program.

Past Delaware Arbor Day celebrations:

• Agriculture Secretary Scuse celebrates Arbor Day at Schutte Park in Dover
• Governor Carney celebrates 2018 Arbor Day at St. Jones Reserve
• Senator Tom Carper celebrates 2017 Arbor Day  at Dover Air Force Base

Delaware celebrates Arbor Day

DOVER, Del. — Delaware celebrated Arbor Day in Dover, an annual occasion to highlight the many benefits of trees and encourage communities to plant more of them. The Delaware Forest Service hosted its annual Arbor Day Ceremony at Dover’s Schutte Park, honoring its school poster contest winners and recognizing Dover’s 30th Year as the First State’s longest-running Tree City USA. The event culminated with the planting of more than 30 large trees at six locations, including a zelkova on the historic Green on State Street. Delaware State University also held its Arbor Day event and celebrated its 8th consecutive year as Delaware’s only certified Tree Campus USA, followed by a ceremonial tree planting on campus.

Check out more Arbor Day event photos on Flickr or at the Delaware Forest Service Facebook Page

Wilmington – DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin today was joined by schoolchildren and members of the Friends of Bellevue State Park in planting a tree to celebrate Arbor Day at the park. A group of young people from Wilmington Friends School, Wilmington Montessori School, and several Bellevue State Park spring break day campers were on hand at the event.

“Trees are our friends,” Secretary Garvin told the young students. “They create an ecosystem to provide habitat, not just for birds, but also for other wildlife. They also release oxygen and improve air quality. Trees also help conserve energy and water, and help preserve the soil.”

The children helped Secretary Garvin plant a ceremonial tree to mark the occasion and each child was given a tree to take home to plant. That was followed by a nature walk through the park.

Media Contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

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

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.

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.