Second-Grader At Fairfield's Burr School Inspires Classmates To Plant Tree

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Fairfield First Selectman Mike Tetreau, Tree Warden Jeff Mindor, and the entire Burr Elementary School second grade gathered for a brief ceremony Friday morning to plant a Hornbeam Ironwood tree in honor of Arbor Day in a ceremony inspired by a classmate.

Burr Elementary second-grader Evander Prapopulos and Tree Warden Jeff Minder with the Hornbeam Ironwood tree they planted.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Children from Burr Elementary celebrate Arbor Day by planting a tree.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Chris Donnelly speaks to second-graders at Burr Elementary School.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

First Selectman Mike Tetreau reads a proclamation to the children at Burr Elementary School.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Skip Pearlman

05/05/2016 5:30 a.m.

Members of the Forestry Committee and Chris Donnelly from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Forestry Division issued a proclamation in front of the school for Arbor Day, as did Tetreau.

"This stems from a project (second-grader) Evander Prapopulos did back in October," Minder told Daily Voice. "I kept in touch with him and his parents, and decided to extend the project to today.

"This is one of the trees Evander is extremely interested in – the Hornbeam Ironwood tree. I thought it would be a nice gesture to plant the tree. I want him to come in every day and see the tree. You can see the smile it brought to his face."

"i got the idea because its one of the hardest woods in the world," Evander said of the tree. "And to have all the kids and people here to plant the tree is really good."

Click here to follow Daily Voice Fairfield and receive free news updates.