Parade Grand Marshal Promotes Giveaway—

Candy Is Dandy, But Saplings Don’t Rot Your Teeth

By Nancy K. Crevier

Pat Barkman, the grand marshal for the 2006 Annual Labor Day Parade, a local artist, and an environmentalist, plans to make the parade’s theme of “Newtown For Wide, Open Spaces” more than just words that will be forgotten by the morning after the parade.

On Friday, September 1, she and members of the coalition Roots For Newtown, made up of The Newtown Tree Project, The Newtown Forest Association, the Conservation Commission, the In-land Wetlands Commission, The Pootatuck Watershed Association, Trout Unlimited, and Al’s Trail Association, will meet at her house to prepare 3,000 blue spruce saplings donated by The Newtown Tree Project for distribution during the September 4 Labor Day Parade. The Iroquois Pipeline has funded the distribution of the saplings.

Knowing that the parade committee frowns on candy being tossed from floats, and not wanting to throw “nasty-for-kids’-health” candy anyway, handing out saplings suits her personality and fits the bill for the parade theme, said Ms Barkman.

Adult volunteers will ride a trailer pulled by Dan Holmes of Holmes Fine Gardening, laden with baskets of saplings and planting instructions. The small trees will be distributed to residents along the parade route who are willing to take a pledge to properly plant and care for the trees.

“Trees take up carbon dioxide during the day and give out oxygen,” reads the informational paper that will accompany the sapling. “This process helps fight global warming. Trees act as sponges during wet spells, thus preventing flooding, erosion and flashy rivers. Trees provide cooling shade and warming fuel. Trees do all sorts of wonderful things, even removing pollutants from the soil. Plant them with pride.”

Tree recipients will also receive helpful tips on creating a backyard that promotes open space and a healthy ecological system for Newtown. Avoiding the use of herbicides and pesticides, minimizing lawn area, and integrating property into woodlands, along with bringing in native plantings and ridding property of invasive plant species, can create an attractive habitat for birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects, according to the flier. The preservation of wetlands and wooded areas is also essential to the health of the environment.

More information about the coalition’s sapling program can be found at NewtownForestAssociation.org/RootsForNewtown.html, a website created by Guy Peterson.

The pledge sapling recipients must make is a simple one. “I will water my tree once a week during its first two growing seasons. I will plant it in a good spot today or tomorrow and I’ll be sure to let it breathe out of its bag today. If I have to transplant it, I will do so during its dormant period between September and April. I will do my best for the environment by planting trees and by not using pesticides that kill butterflies or artificial fertilizers that ruin streams and lakes.”

It is a pledge that Roots For Newtown hopes takes hold.