Arbor Day, a Treebute to Trees

By Maria Lamb

On a beautiful Marco Island morning, members of the community along with dignitaries from the City of Marco Island gathered at Leigh Plummer Park to celebrate Arbor Day. Leigh Plummer Park is a City of Marco Island “pocket park” located at North Barfield and Piedmont Circle, dotted with beautiful mature native trees providing shade along the banks of Calusa Lake.

In Florida, Arbor Day is celebrated on the third Friday in January. Arbor

Day is a tribute to the importance of planting trees. It has been said that, “Trees are like the lungs of the planet as they provide oxygen to living things.” They clean the water and the air around us; we feel good when we walk in landscapes abundant with trees and vegetation. Trees also provide homes and shelter for birds and other wildlife.

The Marco Island Arbor Day Celebration was sponsored by the city’s Beautification Advisory Committee (BAC). Susan LaGrotta, chair

of the BAC, gave a brief history of Arbor Day and City Council Chair Larry Honig read the Arbor Day Proclamation. In keeping with tradition, members of the Marco Island Charter Middle School (MICMS) Jazz Band provided the musical background and the accompaniment to Emily and Herb Savage’s rendition of “God Bless America.”

A big thanks to Affordable Landscape for donating a beautiful mature golden trumpet tree. A tabebuia is a spring show stopper, with its amazing display of yellow trumpet-shaped blooms announcing “spring” in Southwest Florida.