GARDEN GROVE : Planting Respect for the Environment

Greta Folsom knelt in the mud in Twin Lakes Park, gleefully patting a mound of soil around the base of a newly planted jacaranda tree.

“It’s a work of art,” the 12-year-old said proudly, beaming at the slender tree. Her classmates swirled around her, dumping buckets of water on nearby saplings and stomping on freshly shoveled soil.

Nearly 70 sixth-graders from Earl Warren Elementary School marched to the park Monday morning to shovel dirt, plant 12 trees and pick up trash in honor of Arbor Day.

The annual tree-planting celebration is observed in California on March 7 to honor the birthday of the late California horticulturist Luther Burbank.

The city invited the children to plant the trees to foster a greater respect for the environment and commitment to public parks, said Jim Yasutake, field services supervisor for the Garden Grove Public Services Department.

“We want to get the kids involved and make them aware of the value of trees,” he said.

With a little help from parents and park maintenance workers, the children dug holes and planted Canary Island pines, liquidambars and jacarandas on the east and west sides of the park.

Afterward, they roamed the banks of the park, picking up bottles, cigarette butts, shredded Styrofoam, snack food wrappers and even an old pillow. Others shoveled mud from the asphalt walkways and then swept them clean.

The elementary school “adopted “ the park two years ago and sends a new group of students every month to pick up trash, sixth-grade teacher Fred Fox said. But this was the first cleanup outing for this group, he said.

Most of the kids live near the park and said they were both sad and angry about the litter on the ground and the rank-smelling pond.

“It’s sad that it’s so messed up,” said 12-year-old Robert Miner.

“You used to be able to go fishing here, but now when you get a fish, it’s nasty and moldy,” he said.

Classmate Michael Martinez agreed but was more hopeful.

“It’s dirty, but we’re just trying to clean it up,” he said. “Sooner or later, it will get clean.”

Many of the kids use the park to walk, ride their bikes or roller-blade after school. Some said they usually encourage people not to litter, while others said the field trip made them more aware of the need to prevent littering.

“When I came to this park, I never really noticed the trash,” said 11-year-old Xochitl Gonzalez. “But when I come the next time, I’m going to try to clean it up.”

At the end of the field trip, the students gathered for punch and cookies and most agreed that the best part of the day was planting the trees.

“It’s fun. It was cool,” said Tim Sherman.