Hailey Unruh, a fifth grader at Jennie Barker Elementary School, was recognized April 27 at the school during Garden City’s Arbor Day event for designing the best poster in the school, city and southwest district in the annual Kansas Arbor Day Poster Contest.
Unruh received a specially framed poster for winning the contest and a specially framed poster of the contest winners across the districts in the state. Her teacher, Anita Palmer, also received a specially framed poster of the contest winners across the districts in the state to display at the school.
Others local contest winners included Stacy Perez, a fifth grader at Charles O. Stones Intermediate Center, who earned second place, and Emily Evan, a fifth grader at Jennie Barker Elementary School, took third place.
Arbor Day is a holiday on the last Friday of April in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. Garden City is celebrating its 45th year as being a Tree City USA.
During Thursday’s celebration, John Klempa with the Kansas Forest Service demonstrated how to properly plant a tree at the school, which the winning students helped to plant.
Deborah Oyler, Mayor of Garden City, read a proclamation that detailed the importance of trees to Garden City before naming April 28, 2023, as Arbor Day in Garden City.
At the end of the event, students were given little trees to take home and plant.