Chinkapin oak selected for 35th Arbor Day planting at NCES

NORTH CANAAN — The home of an enviable arboretum, thanks to the ongoing efforts headed by Tom Zetterstrom, North Canaan Elementary School has a lush array of perfectly chosen trees.

A new tree is planted each year, and this year, the school’s 35th anniversary of celebrating Arbor Day, along with the 55th year of Earth Day, a chinkapin oak became the latest addition.

On Friday, April 25, the entire school, along with a large contingent from the community, gathered in an area next to the school for a ceremony. Principal Beth Johnson, in her opening remarks, said, “Caring for our earth is something that we all share. We all have a role in enriching the world around us.”

The annual program is hosted by the school’s fifth grade and several of its students read poems they had created. Kane Ackerman wrote “Pike,” while Leia Wohlfert penned “Lone Oak Tree.” Ellia Wagner’s work was titled “The Tree that Saved my Sadness,” while Charlotte Finney shared “Cherry Blossom” and Bailey King read her “Magnolia Tree.” The tree also becomes their class tree.

Zetterstrom noted that a tree has been planted at the school since Earth Day in 1990. There is a red oak, yellowwood, and black gum among the collection. There is also another chinkapin oak, which he said is his favorite. He then touched on the topic of photosynthesis, “which is quite a mouthful.” But it is apparently an easy concept for first-grader Simon Jacques. When Zetterstrom asked if anyone knew what it meant, the young boy shouted out the answer. Zetterstrom invited him to the microphone, where he proceeded to give a detailed explanation, much to the delight and awe of those in attendance.

Zetterstrom said the new chinkapin now has a trunk three inches in diameter. It can grow to 60- to 80-feet tall, and 40- to 50-feet wide. Its leaves will be dark green on the upper side and flash white underneath. As the tree matures, it will develop acorns to provide food for wildlife. A member of the white oak family, it prefers limestone soils, which make it a natural for Canaan’s limestone geology and landscape.

He told the students that 10 years ago he discovered such a tree in the Sharon Land Trust woods and it measured 48 inches in diameter at breast height. “It turned out to be the biggest chinkapin and is now the reigning Connecticut Champion Chinkapin Oak. Imagine, your chinkapin might someday become the Connecticut Chinkapin champion.”

The program also featured songs sung by kindergartners and first-graders. Then some students were chosen to mulch the area around the base of the tree.