Aurora Elementary Students To Plant Trees For Arbor Day Ceremony

AURORA, IL — To commemorate Arbor Day and their time at Bardwell Elementary School, students in each of the school's five fifth-grade classrooms will plant trees Friday, officials said.

The "Bloom Where You Are Planted" ceremony will kick off at 1 p.m. at Bardwell Elementary, 550 S. Lincoln Ave. Besides planting five trees, students will recite poems and reflect on Arbor Day, how trees impact the environment and how the event's name also applies to humans, according to city officials.

A sixth tree will be planted at the adjacent Bloomhaven campus, home to Weston Bridge, an independent living community for people with intellectual, cognitive and developmental disabilities. Bloomhaven was recently awarded the Regional Excellence Award for Equity with Impact by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning for its "inspiring $129 million transformation" from the dilapidated former Copley Hospital, said Clayton Muhammad, the city's chief communications officer.

Bloomhaven residents will join the Bardwell Elementary students to plant the sixth tree.

Mayor Richard Irvin will attend the ceremony, where he will present the city's annual Arbor Day proclamation.