Arbor Day celebrations held throughout the Flathead Valley
Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 1 hour, 58 minutes AGO
Edgerton Elementary third-graders use a pair of braces with bits attached to drill holes at the Flathead High School wood shop station at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 25. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Honoring the many benefits of trees, communities in the Flathead Valley are planning Arbor Day celebrations.
Kalispell will host an Arbor Day event on Friday, April 25 at Lawrence Park. About 340 third-graders from School District 5 will plant trees in the park.
The theme “Don’t Stop Be-leaf-ing” will guide the day’s activities, including environmental education booths, park beautification, tree planting and an Arbor Day ceremony.
The event begins at 9 a.m. and concludes at 2:30 p.m. Community members and parents are invited to the formal Arbor Day ceremony and tree planting beginning at 9:20 a.m.
Throughout the day volunteers from the community will plant 30 trees in and around the Kalispell area and more will be on hand to help students learn about the importance of trees through science experiments and demonstrations.
The idea for Arbor Day originated in Nebraska in 1872 and is now widely celebrated in all 50 states as well as internationally.
Commonly observed on the last Friday of April, Arbor Day provides an opportunity to plant trees and celebrate their importance to our communities for their practical value as well as their contribution to our health and well-being.
Kalispell’s Arbor Day celebration is presented by the Kalispell Urban Forestry Committee.
The Whitefish Parks and Recreation Department is holding a tree planting celebration in honor of Arbor Day on April 24 at 9 a.m. at Armory Park in Whitefish. Student interns from Whitefish High School’s Center for Sustainability and members of the Tree Advisory Committee and will be volunteering to help plant the trees.
Whitefish was awarded a $850 Arbor Day Grant from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to help purchase trees for the Arbor Day celebration.
Columbia Falls will celebrate Arbor Day on May 1.
Area natural resource managers and fifth-grade students from Ruder Elementary from noon to 1 p.m. will plant trees at Marantette Park, near U.S. 2 at Second Avenue East and 13th Street East.