By Khalida Sarwari
Students in Saratoga are invited to participate in an Arbor Day poster contest as part of the city’s seventh annual celebration to be held on April 24 outside the Saratoga Library.
Sponsored by the city of Saratoga, this year’s Arbor Day event will take place from 3 to 4 p.m. outside the community room at the library, 13650 Saratoga Ave. Every poster entry received will be displayed inside that room on the day of the event, according to Mayor Jill Hunter. The posters will then be exhibited around town following the event.
This is the first year the city is holding a poster contest to honor Arbor Day, Hunter said. She came up with the idea for the contest to foster a love of trees among children and youth in Saratoga.
“I felt that I wanted our schoolchildren to realize how important trees are to our community, and I thought it’d be a good way to introduce them to the topic,” she said.
The contest is open to students in grades K-12. Posters must be 14 by 24 inches, and students must write their full name, age and school on the back of the poster. Artists are free to use any medium they want as long as they adequately convey a message about the importance of trees.
Three $50 gift certificates will be awarded during the Arbor Day event to the winners in three age groups: grades K-3, 4-8 and 9-12. The winners of the contest will be selected by a three-judge panel.
Entries are due to the city manager’s office, 13777 Fruitvale Ave., by 5 p.m. on April 15.
This year’s Arbor Day celebration will feature live music, snacks and a talk by certified arborist Blair Glenn about how to care for trees. As is customary every year, elected officials will plant an oak tree at the entrance of the community room, complete with a bronze plaque and rock marking it as an Arbor Day tree.
Last year on Arbor Day, then-mayor Chuck Page planted an oak at Wildwood Park. Altogether, the city planted more than 83 trees over the last fiscal year and pruned and treated more than 400 trees.
“We do this because we’re a ‘Tree City USA,’ ” Hunter said. “Part of it is we have an annual Arbor Day celebration.”
Attendees will be able to take home a bag of compost as well as other giveaways, and to adopt free trees.
For more information about the poster contest or the Arbor Day event, contact Mainini Cabute atmcabute@saratoga.ca.us or 408.868.1275.
