LAKEWOOD – The public is invited to Lakewood Township’s Arbor Day celebration and tree plantings sponsored by Lakewood Township and the Lakewood Shade Tree Commission, Friday, April 27, 2018, at 3:30 p.m., at the Sheldon Wolpin Lakewood Historical Museum, Pine Park, Lakewood.
At the ceremony, with help from the Lakewood Public Works Department, officials will plant 26 evergreen Boxwood shrubs, and two Southern Magnolias (Botanical Name: Magnolia grandiflora Bracken’s Brown Beauty Magnolia). These broad-leaf evergreen trees are known for their creamy, white flowers and exotic fragrance.
The first celebration of Arbor Day in the United States took place in 1872. The holiday, held on the last Friday in April, was created to encourage individuals and groups to plant trees and realize their importance. Lakewood has embraced that concept, holding Arbor Day ceremonies and planting hundreds of trees over the years. Lakewood has been awarded “Tree City USA” for the past 35 years for its outstanding urban forestry.
Craig J. Theibault, vice chairman of the Lakewood Shade Tree Commission, said, “You know what they say, ‘The best time to plant a tree is 30 years ago; the second best time is today.'”
Theibault, who holds a B. S. degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture, has been a member of the Ocean County Shade Tree Commission since 1992. Besides serving on the Shade Tree Commission locally, Theibault has also served as a member of the N.J. Community Forestry Council, a 20-member advisory board to the State Forester, since 1999.
Other Shade Tree Commission members include Tzvi Gordon, Raphael Miller, Moshe Raitzik, and Mary Kay Malec, secretary.
