Zionsville middle schooler wins third place in statewide poster contest

Indiana’s Arbor Day this year is April 25.

Arbor Day is a day on which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant trees each year. Arbor Day was first celebrated in 1872, when an estimated 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska, the home state of then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sterling Morton.

States observe Arbor Day on different dates throughout the year based on the best tree planting times in their respective area. This year, Indiana’s date and the national date are the same.

No matter where you live in the Hoosier State, there’s a tree celebration, planting, giveaway or similar tree-themed event for you to enjoy this month or next. Details about spring Arbor Day events across Indiana are posted on the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Community & Urban Forestry program website at on.IN.gov/CUF under the Tree City USA section.

In celebration of Arbor Day, the DNR Division of Forestry holds an annual poster contest. The first-place winner was Jaxon Cadden, St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Newburgh. In second place was Chase Steele from John H. Castle Elementary School, also in Newburgh. The third-place winner was Anne Rose Worthington from Zionsville Middle School in Zionsville.

“This year’s submissions were especially creative, with focuses on a variety of health and well-being aspects,” said DNR Forestry’s Racheal Stenger, who coordinated the contest. “We want to thank all the schools that participated and the teachers who chose to highlight the importance of trees to human and environmental health in their classroom.”

View the top three winners’ posters and more details about the contest at on.IN.gov/arbor-day-poster.