Mayor William Flanagan and the Fall River Urban Tree Commission sponsored a poster contest for fifth-graders at the Doran, Fonseca and Greene Elementary Schools. Winners of that contest were then invited to Government Center to receive their awards from the Mayor and Mary Ann Wordell, Director of the Fall River Fall River Street Tree Planting Program (FRSTPP), on May 1, 2014. The theme was "Trees are terrific and good for our health." "The contest was designed to get children to think about the important roles trees play in our community and how they contribute to our health," commented Ms. Wordell. Gift certificates were awarded by the FRSTPP, Tree Warden Tom Eaton and the Mayor's Office. A  a citywide tree inventory was recently completed, and a US Forest Service Water Quality grant will provide more trees. Ms. Wordell was honored on April 29, 2014 with the dedication of the City's new Tree Farm in her name, and there are preliminary plans to add two more tree farms in the future. "We believe an Arbor Day Poster Contest is one successful method to bring awareness to the value and benefit that trees provide to a community," stated Mayor Flanagan. Click here for a video of the event. For more information about the Street Tree Planting program, contact Mary Ann Wordell at 508-679-8887.

(Top row, left) Jeff Sousa looks at the drawings, among which is one by his daughter, Hannah. (Top row center) Third place winner Haley Ccrivaro poses with her younger brother, Landon, and her older sister, Hannah. (Top row, right) Honorable mention winner Tassila Cabral in the yellow dress poses for a photo with her sister, Tamila, her mother, Gisiane, and her brother, Tiago. (Middle row) Fall River Street Tree Planting Program coordinator Mary Ann Wordell and City Planner Elizabeth Dennehy hand out awards along with citations from Mayor Flanagan. (Bottom row) First place winner Hannah Sousa gets her picture taken while one of the teachers talks with second place winner Cheyenne Davaige.