Arbor Day trees: Where are they now?

Forty years ago, a small program was launched to send local fourth graders home with free seedlings in celebration of Arbor Day.

It began with a few hundred seedlings given away to a few Coeur d'Alene schools. Now, nearly 2,000 seedlings are distributed to fourth graders across Kootenai County each year.

In honor of Arbor Day and the Coeur d'Alene Arbor Day program, The Press asked readers to send stories and photos of where they and their trees are now.

Jessica Cenell, who grew up in Coeur d'Alene and married Post Falls city arborist Randy Cenell, planted her Douglas fir tree in Hayden about 32 years ago.

"It is much bigger now," Randy Cenell said.

Coeur d'Alene mom Patty McGinnis shared that her daughter, Alyssa Romero, was in Mrs. Deremiah’s fourth grade class at Bryan Elementary when she brought home a hope crab tree in 2009.

"It was a tiny stick," McGinnis said. "I planted it in a pot for a couple years. In 2011, I planted it in the yard. It grew and began to bloom every spring."

Her daughter Makena brought home a pin oak tree from Borah Elementary in 2002.

"It also grew and was an absolutely beautiful tree," McGinnis said.

She said she can't wait to see what her grandson, Sully, brings home from his class at Bryan this week.

"I will plant his also," she said. "Watching them grow, knowing that they represent the celebration of Arbor Day in Coeur d’Alene, is a way to keep our community beautiful for four decades."

Happy Arbor Day!

    Coeur d'Alene mom Patty McGinnis sent The Press this photo of the pin oak her daughter, Makena, brought home from Borah Elementary in 2002.
  

    Alyssa Romero was in Mrs. Deremiah’s fourth grade class at Bryan Elementary when she brought home this hope crabapple tree during the Coeur d'Alene Arbor Day program in 2009. The tree is seen here in 2021.