"Which one of you, on this
or any other day, has been tempted to climb a tree?" A sea of
enthusiastic hands goes up in Ms. Spinello's third-grade class,
as well as a few brandishing clarinets and drumsticks in Dr.
Hartung's school band.
"Which of you has ever wanted to practice your batting stroke on
the trunk of a tree?" Rather fewer hands, tentatively raised.
"Who has ever wanted to snap off a branch of a tree to use as a
bat?" Just one lone hand fell into the trap. The children of
PS/IS 217 were learning an important lesson from Doryne Isely,
General Manager of Roosevelt Island Housing Management. Soon
they were all raising their right hands to swear an oath to
protect the trees of Roosevelt Island.
In fact, vandalism of trees is mercifully rare here, according to
Maurice Bleifeld, Chair of the Roosevelt Island Tree Board. His
gentle, measured tone reinforced the message to respect trees as
he addressed the gathering of children, parents and dignitaries
sitting in the hazy sun just south of Rivercross. The day
before, a young Japanese Pagoda tree had been planted by members
of the Tree Board. It replaces a fallen Norway Maple, blown down
by last year's Hurricane Floyd. The sapling was donated by Dr.
Katherine Teets Grimm, whose office happens to be in the adjacent
building. It is the first of its kind on the Island, and if all
goes well, we should all be enjoying its beautiful white blooms
later on in the summer, according to Bleifeld.
This wasn't the only tree planted to celebrate Arbor Day 2000.
Eight more now fill tree pits behind the tennis courts near
Octagon Park. They are Callery Pear trees, which should be
covered with showy white flowers in the spring, followed by rich
red and orange leaves in the fall.
These PS/IS 217 kids read their essays in Arbor Day ceremonies
To discover more about the trees on the Island, residents can
join a Tree Walk at 10:00 a.m. today (Saturday, May 13), starting
outside Blackwell House. State Forester Mike Curley is making a
special trip back from his new posting in the Adirondacks to lead
the tour. As Maurice Bleifeld poignantly suggested during the
Arbor Day ceremony, this might be the last chance for this annual
event to commence with the stately trees around Blackwell Field,
because of Southtown development in prospect.
