The third and fourth graders of Minot Forest Elementary School's after-school C.A.R.E. program were amazed to find out they'd be planting trees with the Wareham Garden Club.

In celebration of Arbor Day, which is on April 29, the Wareham Garden Club organized the event, held April 25, just for the kids.

"We are giving trees away to the third and fourth graders," said Diane Murphy, publicity director of the Wareham Garden Club. "I got trees from the Arbor Foundation."

"That's a hundred trees," said Joyce Holster, the Garden Club's horticulture chair. "They're two different kinds: they're both native trees to this part of the country. So they'll feed birds and butterflies and bugs. They'll provide shade and they'll look beautiful."

The trees chosen were the Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), which has scented flowers that look like yellow tulips, and the Redbud (Cerces Canadensis) which has small pink flowers that come out along the branches before the leaves do.

"When the kids graduate high school, these trees will bloom. That's about seven years," said Holster.

On four long tables, the Garden Club placed two 10-pound bags of potting soil on each table, and six sets of the following items: gloves, root pouches, tree saplings, large popsicle sticks identifying the trees and information cards about ticks in the area.

After putting gloves on, the students got busy planting. Almost 50 students took trees home.

Their instructions were to water the plants twice a week, two cups each time, and to place the pot aboveground in direct sunlight.

"Don't forget to water the plants, because if you forget, they'll die," Holster warned the children. "That's because the trees have such small roots."

In a press release, Holster listed all the benefits of planting trees. In addition to providing refuge and food for insects, animals, birds, and people, trees can be used to moderate heat and cold weather if planted on the west or south sides of a house.

"Trees filter pollution from the air and act like a sponge in heavy rains, taking up water to prevent runoff. We also plant trees just for beauty," she wrote.

According to the Arbor Day Foundation, Arbor Day has been a national holiday since 1885. Celebrations can be held in many different ways, not just planting trees. Some other ways include having a search for the biggest or oldest tree in the community, organizing a tree identification hike, or choosing a public park to clean-up.