Middle School students in Kaukauna team up with the Streets Department for Arbor Day
KAUKAUNA, Wis. (WFRV) – Middle school students in Kaukauna learned firsthand the importance of Arbor Day, which falls on the last Friday in April.
Today, 21 fifth-grade students at Riverview Middle School worked with the City of Kaukauna Street Department to plant six trees along the soccer fields near lower Grignon Park.
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Every year, officials in Kaukauna work with area schools to educate students on the importance of preserving forests and natural habitats.
“From wildlife sanctuaries to hydropower utilities, nature has provided for the City of Kaukauna,”
Mayor Tony Penterman said. “As a community, we must, in turn, make sure that we protect our
natural resources. Education is a big part of ensuring that these resources remain available for
generations to come.”
Arbor Day was first established in Nebraska in 1872. It celebrates the planting, upkeep, and preservation of trees. Trees play an important role in Kaukauna, which was recently awarded Tree City USA for the 31st year in a row.
“This event gives kids a great opportunity to learn through a hands-on experience. It allows
them to give back to the community and work together with their peers outside of the
classroom,” said Sadie Swedberg, fifth-grade teacher at Riverview Middle School. “Through this
opportunity, the kids are able to see the entire process of planting trees from beginning to end. I
know they will feel pride knowing that they are doing a good deed for their community!”
As much of the nation has experienced, the emerald ash borer has dramatically impacted the
trees at Grignon Park. The emerald ash borer is an invasive wood-boring beetle that feeds on
the inner bark of an ash tree during its larvae state, killing it slowly from the inside out.
This spring, over 200 ash trees afflicted by the emerald ash borer were removed from the park. The City of Kaukauna has created a reforestation plan to replace the trees.
“A majority of the trees in Grignon Park happened to be ash trees,” said Lily Paul, associate
planner. “We are looking at incorporating a variety of trees at different stages of maturity to
reforest the area.”
The trees chosen for Arbor Day and the overall reforestation of Grignon Park fall under at least
one of four categories of trees: native trees, screening trees, shade trees, and wildlife interest
trees.
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A large variety of trees will help stop diseases from spreading in the future and will lessen.
The visual impact would be if multiple diseased trees were removed.
The City of Kaukauna is applying for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Urban Forestry Inflation Reduction Act Grant program to help fund reforestation efforts.
