NEWS

A tree to reinforce the importance of trees

By ARDEN BASTIA
Posted 5/13/21

By ARDEN BASTIA To celebrate Arbor Day, the Warwick Wildlife Conservation Commission selected Winman Middle School as the location of this year's tree planting. Wind gusts topping 35MPH didn't stop Winman students, faculty, and staff from gathering

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NEWS

A tree to reinforce the importance of trees

Posted

To celebrate Arbor Day, the Warwick Wildlife Conservation Commission selected Winman Middle School as the location of this year’s tree planting.

Wind gusts topping 35MPH didn’t stop Winman students, faculty, and staff from gathering outside last Thursday for the ceremony. Yard Works donated the Ginkgo tree. Special guests including Assistant Superintendent Lynn Dambruch, Ward 8 Councilman Anthony Sinapi, School Committee vice-chair Nathan Cornell, Warwick historian Henry Brown, and Mayor Frank Picozzi were present at the event as well.

“We’re empowering students to find themselves independently and also within the community,” said Winman principal Lynn Prentiss during the tree planting. “The tree symbolizes what it means to be educated. It symbolizes a fresh start, positive energy, growth, strength, unwavering resilience and immortality, since each tree produces seeds to grow more trees. This tree is dedicated to students past, present, and future.”

Sixth grader Richard Desmairis and eighth grader Abbey Poole read original poems with powerful themes of ecology and conservation.

“Why chop, when we can nourish?” read Poole.

“Warwick is a very important city for trees, and we want Warwick to take the lead on planting and preserving trees,” said Cornell during the planting, before chipping in and getting his hands dirty shoveling soil.

This is the Wildlife Conservation Commission’s 16th annual Arbor Day tree planting, according to chair Anne Holst. “We want the trees to be in public spaces, and what better space than a school. The kids get to grow with the trees.”

The WCC planted their first Arbor Day tree at Cedar Hill Elementary School, and has since planted trees at Oakland Beach Elementary, Pilgrim High School, Toll Gate High School, and the Trudeau Center, among other locations.

“We feel very fortunate and very excited that the Wildlife Commission chose Winman for the planting,” said Prentiss, who looks forward to watching the tree grow.

Arbor day, tree, Winman

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