“Trees are Terrific — and Kansas Forests Are, Too!” was the theme of this year’s Arbor Day poster contest.
“Terrific” also is an apt description of Zach Cokely’s poster and his artistic ability: He had the winning poster of 88 produced by Iola fifth-graders; it also was judged the best in southeast Kansas.
“I don’t know how many that would be in all of southeast Kansas, but it has to be hundreds,” said Roberta Shirley, Iola Tree Board chairman.
Cokely attends Jefferson Elementary School. His poster was nicely framed as part of his award — “I’ll hang it in my bedroom,” said Cokely — and he also received an art kit and materials. All of those recognized received books provided by the Kansas Forest Service.
A classmate of Cokely’s, Abigail Taylor, received honorable mention, as did Macayla Bycroft and Mea DeLaTorre, Lincoln Elementary fifth-graders.
The presentations were made Friday, Arbor Day.
Kansas is the only state to have an Arbor Day poster contest year, Shirley said. The national contest was canceled because of financial concerns by Toyota, the corporate sponsor for several year, she added.
The Tree Board annually sponsors the local contest. Board members Kristy Sutherland and Beverly Johnson participated with Shirley in Friday’s presentations.
ARBOR DAY is recognized the last Friday in April in the United States.
The observation and charge for citizens to plant trees on the designated day began in 1872 in Nebraska City, Neb., at the urging of J. Sterling Morton. Estimates then were that a million trees were planted in Nebraska on the day, April 10. Morton was a newspaper editor and served as President Grover Cleveland’s secretary of agriculture.
The Iola Tree Board was formed several years ago to encourage citizens to plant and care for trees.
This morning Tree Board members had their annual tree sale in Riverside Park, with about 80 trees of various sizes and varieties available.
