RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
April 29 was a green day at Randolph Elementary School, where dozens of second- and third-graders donning Earth Day T-shirts celebrated Arbor Day and the planting of a 14-foot-tall live oak tree in front of their school with joyous shouts of "hip hip hooray."
The ceremony, which featured a proclamation recited by Richard Parkinson, 902nd Mission Support Group deputy director for installation support, marked the end of a green month at Randolph Air Force Base, where shred days, electronics recycling, an Earth Day event at the base exchange and other activities drew attention to the importance of taking care of Mother Earth.
The tree planting also satisfied a requirement for the base's continued designation as a "Tree City U.S.A.," one of more than 3,400 communities in the country that meet the standards of the program sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters. Randolph has now been a member of this green-minded group for 18 consecutive years.
"It's quite an honor to be a Tree City this many years running," said Scott Shepherd, 902nd Civil Engineer Squadron cultural resources manager. "If you look at the value of all the trees we have here, it's quite an asset that we have. We're part of a blooming desert here, a little oasis in South Central Texas."
To be a Tree City, a community must have a tree board or department, someone legally responsible for the care and management of trees; a tree care ordinance or policy; a community forestry program with an annual budget of at least $2 per capita; and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
Among the benefits of being a Tree City are creating a framework for action, education, a positive public image and citizen pride. People who live in a Tree City community benefit from cleaner air, shadier streets and aesthetic beauty.
John Howry, 902nd CES landscape architect, said more than 7,000 trees dot Randolph's formerly treeless landscape, many of them live oaks that provide shade in the base's residential and commercial areas. He estimated the trees' monetary worth at more than $3 million.
"We plant a variety of trees - trees that are good for this area," he said. "We usually plant them in November or December."
Mr. Shepherd said Randolph has been committed to planting trees since the base was built on farm land some 80 years ago. He said the Daughters of the American Revolution donated the facility's first trees to commemorate the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth in 1932, a chapter of Randolph's history told in "Tour of Historic Randolph," which was published by Headquarters Air Education and Training Command Office of History and Research in 1995.
"Bordering Washington Circle in front of the Taj Mahal are clusters of live oak trees donated by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1932," the history reads. "Patriotic groups all over the country planted trees to honor the nation's first president on the 200-year anniversary of his birth (Feb. 22, 1732). All told, the San Antonio de Bexar chapter donated 120 of the live oaks, the first trees planted on Randolph Field."
Karen Bessette, Randolph Elementary School principal, said celebrating Earth Day and participating in the tree-planting ceremony help make the students "aware of the importance of taking care of the Earth."
"It's a nice legacy to leave," she said.