Suffield Garden Club Nourishes Roots of 46-Year Tradition

The Suffield Garden Club met at McAlister Intermediate School on April 27 to clip and bag more than 200 sugar maple tree saplings. They rolled up their sleeves, put on their gloves and came together to celebrate Arbor Day with Suffield’s youth.

The Suffield Garden Club has met each year to distribute trees to fourth-grade students. Through a generous bequest from Val Gallivan, each fourth-grade student receives a tree to plant.  

The trees are pre-ordered and stored in a nourished mulch bed. Suffield Tree Warden Ron Vidal picks up the trees then maintains and stores them until the Arbor Day ceremony.   

The fourth grade classes gathered in the McAlister gymnasium for a presentation about the history of both Arbor Day and Suffield’s tree-giving tradition. Many of the children have older siblings that have already received and planted trees. They were visibly excited to finally receive their own sapling. 

Suffield Garden Club member Lauren Barrett discussed the importance of planting trees and the environment. The students and their parents lined up by classroom and happily accepted their gift.

Leaving the parking lot, tips of trees paraded out open car windows.