Menlo Park celebrates Arbor Day with mayoral tree planting

Today is National Arbor Day but Menlo Park celebrated earlier.  Four young trees were planted at the Belle Haven Child Development Center on April 9.

The City partners with a nonprofit organization, Canopy, to assist with the tree plantings. The kids from the Center joined Mayor Cecilia Taylor, the Environmental Quality Commission and City staff in planting four ceremonial trees – one trident maples, two fern pines and one red maple. Each classroom had an opportunity to plant a tree in the ground and learn about the benefits of growing trees.

The event started off with a story time from the Mayor who read two nature-themed books to each classroom, then City staff handed out “safety gears” and mini shovels to the kids, and the kids started shoveling dirt into the ground. The last tree, the red maple, by the administrative office, was the Mayor’s ceremonial planting. Each mayor plants a tree during their term.

Curious to see where previous mayors have planted ceremonials trees? Check out our Arbor Day and Mayor tree planting map with planting locations since 2006.