Arbor Day

Trees to Grow On

Trees to Grow On

Members of the BGC TWiG and Education committees convened at East Belfast Elementary School this morning to continue the Arbor Day celebration with a group of kindergarten and first-grade students. Three new trees–a tulip tree, a white oak, and a black gum–were purchased by the club to site on the bare and windy hill overlooking the road. The committees prepared the holes and added the trees, then the students shoveled the dirt back in, carefully tamped it down with their right-sized feet, and gave each tree a good soaking. Many of the students remarked that they’d never seen a tree…

Belfast City Park Gains a Black Gum Tree

Belfast City Park Gains a Black Gum Tree

Members of the Belfast Garden Club joined forces with Belfast Parks and Recreation staff to plant a black gum tree near the entrance to City Park on Arbor Day, April 25, 2025. Parks and Recreation Director Pam Salokangas read a proclamation declaring Belfast’s embrace of Arbor Day and its principles, followed by a reading of a poem by Belfast poet laureate Maya Stein that spoke to the importance of trees in our lives. Then the digging began! Assisted by several strong BPR employees, garden club members dug the right-sized hole to accommodate the sapling, and gave instruction on how to…

City Park gardeners

Arbor Day Is On the Way!

On Friday, April 25th at 10 a.m., Belfast Garden Club members will join City Park staff to celebrate Arbor Day in the best possible way: by planting a tree! City Park will gain a black gum (Nyssa silvatica) tree to replace the ancient horse chestnut tree that didn’t survive the winter. A proclamation announcing Belfast’s dedication to the health and welfare of its arboreal residents will be read, followed at noon by a guided walking tour of City Park’s trees led by Aleta McKeogh. You can continue the tree walk at 2pm at the corner of Union and Commercial Streets,…