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Maybe next year it will be as tall as the school building.

A fourth grader speculated to Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon  on Friday as he was talking to the pupils about the bald cyprus tree they were planting for Arbor Day in South Carolina. 

This holiday is celebrated the first Friday in December in South Carolina and the City of Aiken planted the tree at Aiken Elementary School. Aaron Campbell, the grounds supervisor and horticulturist for the City of Aiken, spoke to fourth-grade and kindergarten students about the tree and the importance of trees.

“Something kind of neat about a bald cypress, different trees can grow in different environments, some trees can grow in sandy soil, some in rocky soil, this tree can grow in water,” Campbell said. “So it’s kind of neat how over the years it has adapted for that. So it is a tree you can find in wetlands … another really cool thing, in particular about bald cypress are the cypress knees that they put up.”

The bald cypress tree, chosen because it can grow in wetland conditions, was planted in the outdoor classroom area at Aiken Elementary. Campbell answered questions from the students about the tree.

“It was great with the kids,” Campbell said. “They asked some really fantastic questions. They were very intuitive, very interested in what it was we were doing. It was a joy to be with them.”

Aiken Elementary Principal Cynthia Hewitt said the school was thrilled to join in the tree planting.

The Aiken mayor told the children he was excited to be there.

“We’re happy to be here to plant a tree for Arbor Day and this is a tree we can come back later in our lives and see how it’s grown and how those roots have gone into the ground and made a solid foundation for it so it can get nutrition,” Osbon said.

For the past 37 years Aiken has been a Tree City USA City, which Campbell said the city is very proud of. He added that the city takes pride in the trees throughout the city.

Stephanie Hill
shill@aikenstandard.com