School to Receive Donation of 500 Trees for Arbor Day

COURT HOUSE – Middle Township will celebrate Arbor Day April 29 in grand style as a local elementary school accepts over 500 tree seedlings that will be distributed to students and faculty. The donation of the seedlings is being made by the Lomax Consulting Group of Cape May Court House. This is the fourth consecutive year that the Township has partnered with the Lomax Consulting Group for a tree seedling distribution.
Douglas Penkethman, the principal of Middle Township Elementary School #2, has coordinated the tree seedling distribution with the Lomax Consulting Group. Seedlings will be distributed to every student at the school. The seedlings will be taken home with the intent of planting the seedlings later in the day. Mayor Clark (? confirm) and Peter Lomax from the Lomax Consulting Group will have the seedlings on carts and will visit classrooms for distribution.
Three types of evergreen seedlings will be distributed to the students and staff at the school: Eastern White Pine, Norway Spruce, and Douglas Fir. The seedlings come at no cost to the school or Township.
“We are grateful to Lomax Consulting Group for the donation of these seedlings and for the educational opportunity this event provides,” said Mayor Michael Clark. “Not only does Arbor Day encourage environmental awareness, but it also fosters a sense of community pride. We are very pleased that the students of Elementary #2 are taking part in this initiative.”
Middle Township has two important forestry projects underway. The first project includes the revisions to the Community Forestry Management Plan that was originally prepared in 2010; revisions will incorporate recommendations and strategies to replace some of the trees that were removed by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority prior to the construction of three new overpasses in Middle Township, as well as active management of the Township’s forest resources.
The second project is a result of a No Net Loss grant secured by Middle Township. This will fund the acquisition of 1,275 additional trees for community. Combined with the 600 seedlings distributed on Arbor Day, this will result in nearly 1,900 new trees for the Township.