Students at Hoxsie Elementary School got to experience the true meaning of Arbor Day on Friday, as the Warwick Wildlife and Conservation Commission stopped by with a young maple sapling to plant in the front lawn.

Each student in attendance got to shovel some fresh dirt onto the new tree, donated by Yard Works in Warwick, in what was the 14th annual Arbor Day tree planting organized by the Conservation Commission.

“Here at Hoxsie School we are going to celebrate Arbor Day by planting a tree. Let us all remember why trees are so important,” said Hoxsie student Ava Holland in her Arbor Day essay, which was read aloud to the large group gathered for the planting ceremony. “Every breath you take is the oxygen our trees make. Every piece of paper you write on or use is made from a tree. All of your wooden objects are from trees. During the summer when it is really hot, trees provide us with shade.”

Conservation Commission chair Anne Holst was in attendance, as was Mayor Scott Avedisian and City Council President (and future acting mayor) Joseph Solomon, Hoxsie principal Gary McCoombs, superintendent Philip Thornton, director of elementary education Lynn Dambruch and longtime commission member Henry Brown, who read “Trees,” a famous poem by Joyce Kilmer.

Solomon said it was nice to be back at Hoxsie, the school where his son and current member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, Joseph Solomon Jr., attended and graduated in the ’90s. He praised the work of the Conservation Commission and the act of planting a new tree.

“It's good to be here today and see you and listen to these wonderful voices and see that the community is still solid and that Hoxsie continues to thrive,” he said. “This is a great commission that preserves our natural resources and makes sure our trees are replenished, especially after this devastating winter that we had. This is the way to correct that and to make sure that Mother Nature continues to thrive; by taking the time to plant a tree. This is a great thing here today, and it's a great thing the school is participating in.”

Once the speeches were over, each student got to take a shovel full of dirt and help entrench the new maple tree. There was no need for the tree to wait for nourishment, as the skies opened up with a rainstorm – almost symbolically – as soon as the last shovels of Earth were distributed.

“Trees hold a lot of important things, which is why we treasure them and take a day to celebrate what they do for our world,” said Holland in the conclusion of her essay. “So let's take this day to celebrate trees and forever take care of our environment.”