Airway Heights plants trees along U.S. 2

AIRWAY HEIGHTS – After two months of work along U.S. Highway 2 in Airway Heights, the strip of landscaping has been completed and was dedicated with a little help from the Airway Heights Falcon’s Club.

Mayor Matthew Pederson brought out his golden shovel last week to help plant the last tree in the area near Lundstrom and Highway 2 along 14th Avenue and asked the children in the Falcon’s Club how trees help the environment and the community.

“I learned they help us breathe,” said one of the students in the club that includes kids from the second through the fifth grades at Sunset Elementary School.

“They give you shade,” added another student.

Pederson explained to the students that the tree they planted that day would be their own special tree, just for the Falcons. He remembered when he was a student, he helped plant a tree in front of Sunset Elementary School and still thinks about the event when he sees the tree.

“As you guys grow, this tree is going to grow,” he told them.

Although it started to rain during the dedication ceremony, the students still had fun rolling in the freshly laid sod and even helped the mayor shovel dirt into the hole to support the tree.

The last of the sod was put on the ground of May 19 and the trees were planted May 21, but the city waited for the children to plant the last one May 22.

After the children put their own shovels full of dirt into the hole, Andy Gardner of the Parks and Recreation Department in Airway Heights finished filling in the rest of the hole, much to the delight of the children.

“We make Andy fill in the rest of the hole,” said Pederson. He said the last time the Falcon’s Club dedicated a tree, the weather was much hotter and the children cheered for him to dig faster.

Stemming from a survey conducted by the State Road 2 Revitalization Committee, the Parks and Recreation Department broke ground on the project in mid-March. The weather was uncooperative during construction, which caused some delays, since in order to lay the concrete curbing it must be at least 60 degrees outside.

Originally scheduled to open April 25, which is Arbor Day, the kids and the mayor posed for a picture in front of a Tree City USA flag. Airway Heights has been a Tree City for the last five years.

The work was completed by the parks department, which utilized work crews from the Airway Heights Correctional Center.

The project cost in between $18,000 and $20,000, according to Chip Pili’aloha, the Airway Heights community development director.

The strip of green along the highway includes Kwanzan cherry trees and it is hoped the city’s farmers’ market can open at the spot.

Pederson said the city works hard to plant trees in Airway Heights, usually at a rate of 200 to 300 a year.

When the children had gone, Glen Pike and Jason Noyes of the parks department leveled out the ground, raked the dirt, shoveled bark around the tree and put the last of the sod into place, finishing two months of work for the department.