Lancaster celebrates Arbor Day

LANCASTER- Raising awareness about nature and celebrating the earth’s beauty is what Arbor Day is all about. Last Saturday, the Town of Lancaster Forestry Department held its 18th annual Arbor Day Celebration at Westwood Park.

For the 13th year in a row, Lancaster has been named a Tree City USA Community for its commitment to urban forestry by the Arbor Day Foundation, the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to planting trees.

The Arbor Day celebration included demonstrations on pruning tools by Town of Lancaster Forestry Department Forester Mark Lubera, as well as a demonstration on tree planting, and a presentation on the Civilian Conservation Corps in Western New York by Jack Lubera from the US Forest Service. Children were also able to plant a flower with members of the Lancaster Garden Club.

In addition, the Arbor Day poster contest winners were announced. There were 164 posters submitted by fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students from Lancaster, Depew, and the area’s Catholic schools.

Taking first place was Zachary Nosbish, a sixth-grade student from William Street School. He received a Nook Color donated by Ecology & Environment and an eight-inch ice cream cake donated by Depew Dairy Queen.

Second place was fifth-grade William Street School student Heather Thomson. She also won a Nook Color donated by Ecology & Environment.

Emily Bookmiller, a sixth-grade student from St. Mary’s Elementary School, took third place in the contest. She was given a Kodak EasyShare Camera with a four gigabyte memory card donated by Ecology & Environment.

Lastly, Summer Dalton received honorable mention for her poster. Dalton is a sixth-grade student at St. Mary’s Elementary School. She was given $5 in Ted’s cash from Ted’s Jumbo Red Hots and a gift certificate for a pint of custard from Andersons.

The Lancaster Garden Club members were also recognized for their efforts in the town as they were presented with the Service to the Community Award by Terry McCracken, general crew chief for the Lancaster Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department.

“They do a wonderful job in the community in promoting community beautification,” remarked McCracken. “Every year, they plant flowers in front of the town hall and village hall. They go out to the historic society. They plant all over this town and they make this town beautiful. They do a terrific job and they do a great benefit to the community.”