SEA GIRT — In honor of Arbor Day, the Sea Girt Elementary School community, county and local officials, faculty and families, joined together to celebrate with the county dedication and planting of a red maple tree at Station Park.
“Welcome to our annual Arbor Day ceremony,” said Principal Richard Papera, during opening remarks. “Thank you to our special guests for their flexibility, because we know Arbor Day was last week and none of you (students) were here – that would have been a really boring ceremony.”
Monmouth County Commissioner Dominick “Nick” DiRocco and Sea Girt Shade Tree Commission Chairman Robert Strang-Wolf, seated alongside Mayor Donald Fetzer and Police Chief Justin Macko, shared with the audience the importance of trees in the community, and why trees should be recognized, not just on Arbor Day, but every day.
DiRocco said, “This is one of the things I look forward to every year, coming to Sea Girt Elementary, seeing all of these smiling faces and being a part of this ceremony.”
“He (Thomas Arnone, county commissioner) and I were talking about how much we enjoy coming to this because of how important it is for our community, how good it makes us feel to be a part of this, and how happy we are that you all do this every year,” he added. “We know how important it is to have trees, a clean environment and beautiful spaces to live in.”
The kindergarten, first- and second-grade classes showcased their classroom projects, sharing some of the crucial benefits that trees provide to humanity, including growing food, providing clean air and wildlife habitats, as well as material uses like building a bed or treehouse.
In Monmouth County, DiRocco said, there are 18,000 acres of preserved park land and open space, making it one of the “best county parks systems (open space programs) in the state.”
“It’s because for many years, the county and all the towns in the county have recognized how important it is to preserve the environment, to keep as many trees and open spaces as possible,” said DiRocco. “There’s a lot of development that goes on in our area all the time…population continues to grow, businesses need to open and expand, and we need that. But, at the same time we have to always be thinking about, be mindful of the needs to preserve the environment.”
DiRocco then presented a proclamation to Sea Girt Elementary School highlighting the uses of the “bountiful number and variety of trees” that the county has been blessed with, and the importance of increasing the number of trees in the urban and rural communities, reminding of the “inseparable link between man and nature.”
Check out our other Sea Girt stories, updated daily. And remember to pick up a copy of The Coast Star—on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition.
Subscribe today! If you're not already an annual subscriber to The Coast Star, get your subscription today! For just $38 per year, you will receive local mail delivery weekly, with pages and pages of local news and online access to our e-edition on Starnewsgroup.com.
 6x10 4c.jpg)
