MDC honors Springfield schools for Arbor Day efforts

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will recognize a number of Springfield schools in April for their participation in the state-wide Fifth Grade Arbor Day Poster Contest. Arbor Day, which was first held in 1874 and was the creation of Nebraska newspaper editor J. Sterling Morton, is an annual event designed to raise people's awareness of the importance of trees. The state actually has two Arbor Days: Missouri Arbor Day will be April 3 (always the first Friday of April) and National Arbor Day is April 24 (always the last Friday in April).

Each year, MDC and the Missouri Community Forestry Council invite the state's fifth grade students to enter the Fifth Grade Arbor Day Contest. This year's contest theme is "Trees Work for a Healthier Me."

Here is a list of Arbor Day Poster Contest recognition and tree-planting events in Springfield that MDC will participate in:

April 3

• Hickory Hills (4650 E. Highway YY, Springfield), 9 a.m.
• Walt Disney (4100 S. Fremont Ave., Springfield), 10:30 a.m.
• Eugene Field (2120 E. Barataria, Springfield), 1 p.m.
• Cowden (2927 S. Kimbrough Ave., Springfield), 2:30 p.m.

April 23

• Pershing (2120 S. Ventura Ave., Springfield), 10:30 a.m.
• York (2100 W. Nichols St., Springfield), 1 p.m.
• Holland (2403 S. Holland Ave., Springfield), 2:30 p.m.

April 24

• Sherwood (1813 S. Scenic Ave., Springfield), 10:30 a.m.
• St. Agnes (531 S. Jefferson Ave., Springfield), 12:30 p.m.
• Mark Twain (2352 S. Weaver Ave., Springfield), 2:30 p.m.

For more information about these events, contact Missouri Department of Conservation Community Forester Cindy Garner at 417-895-6881, ext. 1632 or at Cindy.Garner@mdc.mo.gov. Information about the benefits of trees can be found at mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/trees-work.