Naval Station Norfolk Marks Decade As Tree City USA

NORFOLK (NNS) -- The commanding officer Naval Station (NAVSTA) Norfolk, along with children and teachers from Willoughby Child Development Center (CDC), planted a tree in observance of Arbor Day, April 25.

Capt. David A. Culler, Jr., NAVSTA CO, explained the significance of tree-planting ceremony to the children.

"A man from Nebraska thought there were not enough trees in his state so he created Arbor Day, a holiday that everyone would get prizes for planting a lot of trees. On the first Arbor Day, his state planted more than one million trees," said Culler. "Now all over the county, we plant trees on Arbor day to keep the earth healthy and happy."

Arbor Day was first proposed in 1872 by J. Sterling Mortin, who thought his home state of Nebraska was too barren of trees. Mortin suggested Arbor Day be a tree-planting holiday during which rewards were offered to counties and individuals for planting the largest number of trees.

"Other holidays repose upon the past. Arbor Day proposes for the future," said Sterling, who found trees superior to cold marble in memorial of persons or events. "How much more enduring are the animate trees of our own planting."

NAVSTA was recognized as a Tree City USA community for the 10th consecutive year. Maintaining the Tree City USA distinction means upholding criteria set by the National Arbor Day Foundation, an organization started in 1972 that according to its web site is the world's biggest non-profit entity dedicated to planting trees.
The foundation presents the award to communities nationwide for the care of trees they currently have and for adding more to the area.

For a decade now, the base has been recognized by the foundation for the development and support of its urban forestry program, an initiative that continues to pay dividend to the environment and the Sailors who work and live in it.

The Willoughby CDC has planted trees for the past three years on Arbor Day; those trees still stand proudly on the CDC grounds welcoming this year's selection, a live oak.

In addition to the tree planting, Michael Aherron, a representative from the Department of Forestry, gave the children one-year-old live oak trees to take home. Aherron explained the different parts of the tree to the children and how to take care of it.

"The roots are like straws for the tree, sucking up all the water and nutrients the tree needs to grow," said Aherron. "Make sure to plant your tree somewhere where it will get plenty of sunlight because the sunlight helps the tree make its' food."

Like Arbor Day, Earth Day is recognized fleet-wide. In celebration of Earth Day, Sailors and civilians participated in the 2013 NAVSTA Clean the Station Day, April 19. Clean the Station Day was instituted by Commander Navy Region Mid-Atlantic in an effort to improve the cleanliness and military appearance of naval installations.

For more information on the Arbor Day Foundation or how your installation can be recognized as a Tree City USA community, visit http://www.arborday.org.

For more news from Naval Station Norfolk, visit www.navy.mil/local/nsn/.