Photo by Linda Seabury
This lovely maple tree, photographed by its neighbor about 16 years ago, was planted 20 years before that by a Suffield fourth grader. It still flourishes.
The Suffield Garden Club, with financial support from Val Gallivan’s contribution to the club’s memorial fund, has continued a long-standing tradition of donating a small sapling to each Suffield fourth grader at an Arbor Day assembly program. The children have been given good instructions about planting and care and have been expected to plant them somewhere in town, typically in their own yards or farm fields. The species chosen each year has varied, and not all the trees have survived, but certainly this program has been a significant factor in the lovely landscape Suffield citizens enjoy.
The healthy maple tree on River Boulevard pictured here stands as a fine example of the Suffield Garden Club’s effort. It was planted in the early spring of 1981 by young Kris Remington in the field next to her family home on River Boulevard. Today Kris is Kris Pryce, 2016 Suffield Teacher of the Year, now serving as K–5 English language arts and social studies curriculum leader in Suffield schools. The photo was taken about 16 years ago by River Boulevard neighbor Linda Seabury, until recently a Suffield schools music teacher. The tree was then an adolescent; it’s a sturdy adult now.
The tradition continues at McAlister Intermediate School this year on the afternoon of April 19, when the Garden Club will donate close to 200 little sugar maples, with their bare roots bagged neatly for the trip home with parents or grandparents who have come to enjoy the program of singing and reciting about trees. One trusts they will provide helpful guidance for the planting task and good support as the new tree grows into its role in beautifying our town.