SEDGWICK — The Bagaduce Watershed Association is celebrating Earth Day a little early this year, but the celebration will last for generations.
The volunteer organization will present a blue spruce seedling to each eighth-grade student in the five towns that make up the watershed: Castine, Sedgwick, Brooksville, Penobscot and Blue Hill.
Because Earth Day, April 22, falls during the week of spring break vacation, the trees will be given to students this week.
John Ferriday of the Bagaduce Watershed Association said 74 students will receive blue spruce seedlings measuring 4 to 7 inches tall by week’s end. The students are invited to plant the trees at home or wherever they choose. The trees grow to 50 to 75 feet tall with a 25-foot spread.
Ferriday said the association chose to give trees in celebration of Earth Day as a way to remind students that “this environment is the only one we have and therefore it is up to us to treat it with tender loving care.”
Trees counter one of the strongest threats to a healthy environment: greenhouse gases. Through photosynthesis, trees remove carbon from the atmosphere and release oxygen, thereby reducing the harmful effect of greenhouse gases.
Another threat to the environment comes from the combined activities of a community, said Ferriday, adding that development and other human activities can have a negative cumulative impact on water quality and wildlife habitat. Trees also help mitigate these effects.
The Bagaduce Watershed Association recognizes that the future of Earth’s natural environment depends on the good practices adopted by younger generations.
For complete story, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.
Nicole Ouellette
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