Sunday, June 21, 2026
48.0°F

PHOTOS: Third-graders celebrate Arbor Day at Kalispell's Lawrence Park

CASEY KREIDER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month, 3 weeks AGO
by CASEY KREIDER
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Casey Kreider is a staff photographer for the Daily Inter Lake. His work documents news, sports, wildlife, landscapes and everyday life across Northwest Montana through visual storytelling. Kreider’s keen eye captures major sporting events, community moments, and the natural beauty that defines the region. He is a graduate of Penn State University and previously worked as a photographer for Lancaster Newspapers in Pennsylvania. In 2024, he received the Montana Newspaper Association’s Mel Ruder Photograph of the Year award. IMPACT: Kreider's work brings readers closer to the people, places and moments that shape life in Northwest Montana through powerful visual journalism. | April 24, 2026 3:10 PM

Kalispell Public School District No. 5 third-graders celebrated Arbor Day at Kalispell's annual ceremony held at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24.

    Colton Engeland, right, a junior at Flathead High School involved in the school's wood shop program, helps a third-grade student use a hand plane at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


    Flathead Electric Cooperative journeyman tree trimmer James Gabriel scales a tree during a demonstration at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


    Third-grade students use a crosscut saw on a piece of wood at the Flathead High School Wood Shop station at the Arbor Day celebration in Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 
    A volunteer with Montana Wild Wings Recovery Center holds a long-eared owl during a demonstration at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


    Third-grade students use a brace and bit to drill a hole into a piece of wood at the Flathead High School Wood Shop station at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


    Third-grade students use a brace and bit to drill a hole into a piece of wood at the Flathead High School Wood Shop station at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 
    A volunteer with Montana Wild Wings Recovery Center holds a barn owl during a demonstration at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


    A third-grade student smiles as she is hoisted into the canopy of a horse chestnut tree at the Trees for Life Montana station at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


    Third-grade students shovel dirt as they help plant a Northern Acclaim Honeylocust tree during the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


    Third-grade students hammer nails into a piece of wood at the Flathead High School Wood Shop station at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 
    A volunteer with Montana Wild Wings Recovery Center holds a peregrine falcon during a demonstration at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 
Kalispell Mayor Ryan Hunter speaks to the crowd after accepting the Tree City USA Growth Award on behalf of the city at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
    Third-grade students hammer nails into a piece of wood at the Flathead High School Wood Shop station at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


    Third-grade students in teacher Jess Hensley's class at Edgerton Elementary read a poem at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


    Third-grade students shovel dirt as they help plant a Northern Acclaim Honeylocust tree during the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


    A barn owl screeches during a demonstration by Montana Wild Wings Recovery Center at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 
    A volunteer with Montana Wild Wings Recovery Center holds a long-eared owl during a demonstration at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 
Kalispell Mayor Ryan Hunter accepts the Tree City USA Growth Award on behalf of the city at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
    A volunteer with Montana Wild Wings Recovery Center holds a peregrine falcon during a demonstration at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 
    Third-grade students shovel dirt as they help plant a Northern Acclaim Honeylocust tree during the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 
    A volunteer with Montana Wild Wings Recovery Center holds a peregrine falcon during a demonstration at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 
    A volunteer with Montana Wild Wings Recovery Center holds a great horned owl during a demonstration at the Arbor Day celebration at Lawrence Park on Friday, April 24. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


ARTICLES BY CASEY KREIDER

PHOTOS: Championship Round of Montana High School Rodeo Finals
June 13, 2026 8:10 p.m.

PHOTOS: Championship Round of Montana High School Rodeo Finals

Action from the Championship Round of the Montana High School Rodeo Finals held at Majestic Valley Arena on Saturday, June 13.

PHOTOS: A trip through the Bison Range
June 17, 2026 midnight

PHOTOS: A trip through the Bison Range

Scenes from a drive through the CSKT Bison Range on Sunday, May 17.

PHOTOS: Flathead, Glacier class of 2026 graduation ceremonies
June 6, 2026 1 p.m.

PHOTOS: Flathead, Glacier class of 2026 graduation ceremonies

Photos from Flathead and Glacier high schools' graduation ceremonies held Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6.