A stunning tree canopy covers about 40% of the city of Holladay, with some of the trees dating back to the 1850s. The trees maintain Holladay’s historic charm and keep residents rooted in the community. 

Designated as an official tree city,
Holladay participates in the Tree City USA program founded by the Arbor Day Foundation. A Tree Committee made up of residents, whom the city manager appoints and the city council approves, was created by the Holladay City Council to encourage the planting, maintenance, and preservation of the city’s tree canopy.

As an annual Arbor Day event, the Tree Committee, under the direction of committee member Wendy Frank, selects a school within the city boundaries to participate in a celebration of trees program. 

This year, Cottonwood Elementary
students gathered in the afternoon on the expansive lawns of their playground.
The vibrant scene buzzed with energy as the students danced, clapped and sang to music, celebrating the beauty and importance of trees. Principal Teri Cooper welcomed the students and asked, “How many of you have wished for some shade on the hill by the playground on a very hot day?” The students cheered in response. “Today, we’ll plant a big
maple tree on the hill. It will provide shade for many, many years to come.” 

Next, Cooper asked, “How many of you have noticed how boring this area is, pointing to an empty alcove filled with grass?
Students cheered again. “For years and years and years, there have been no trees over there. You look out your classroom
windows, and it’s all kind of boring!” 

“Thanks to these great folks who have come to Cottonwood Elementary today to help us plant trees, we’ll now have beautiful flowering cherry trees in this area,” Cooper said. “Let’s welcome the arborists, city officials and members of the Holladay Tree Committee to Cottonwood Elementary.” The students cheered in response.

Cooper then recognized and thanked PTA President Kristin Macey for helping organize the event in conjunction with the Holladay Tree Committee and seven Utah-certified arborists. She also thanked Daniel Allen from SuperTrees for his generous donation of a large maple tree and two large flowering cherry trees. 

City Councilmember Matt Durham opened the event by reminding the students about the importance of Arbor Day and how trees benefit the Holladay community. 

“You’re all going to have a chance to help plant trees. Does that sound fun?” Durham asked. The students cheered. “Trees are important to our community because they provide oxygen and shade. It’s even been said that trees help with illness too. Patients with views of trees from their hospital windows seem to heal faster.”

Students were divided into three tree-planting groups, which were led by the arborists. During April, a poetry contest was held, and the winning poems were read by students prior to planting the trees.

Georgie Porter penned a winning poem from the second- and third-grade student entries. Her haiku poem is a literary welcome to the school’s new flowering cherry trees and a nod to the cherry blossom trees in Kyoto, Japan, known for their pink blossoms in the spring. Her poem read: Cherry Blossom Tree/Brown branches, pink leaves/Hopeful, colorful, petals/A tree that is true.

Arborist William Prutt, a self-proclaimed Lorax from the highly popular Dr. Seuss book, loves trees. Prutt symbolizes the environmental importance of caring for and speaking up for trees that cannot speak for themselves.

Prutt demonstrated to the students how to prepare the tree’s root ball for planting and answered a few interesting questions posed by the second- and third-grade students while preparing the tree for planting.

“How tall is the tallest tree in the world?” a student asked. “The tallest known tree in the world is Hyperion. Hyperion stands at an average height of 334 feet that is after 30 to 40 feet broke off the top. It has remained hidden to protect it,” Prutt said. 

“What is the oldest tree?” another student asked. “The oldest known living tree is Methuselah, a Great Basin bristlecone pine. It’s estimated to be around 4,800 years old,” Prutt said.

Students took turns shoveling soil around the trees into the prepared holes. Earlier this month, they participated in a tree-naming contest. The arborists secured plaques with its name at the base of each tree. The maple tree on the hill is now known as Debbie, and the two flowering cherry trees in the alcove have taken on the names Sunny and Popcorn. λ