Arbor Day at Cold Spring School brings tree planting and birdhouse making

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Happy Arbor Day! As is tradition, since the late 1870s, it is a day to plant trees.

Students and staff at Cold Spring Elementary School in Santa Barbara pulled out their planting shovels a day early, on Thursday. 

"This project today, coming to life with our community partnership with Santa Barbara Beautiful, is what the heart and soul of Cold Spring is all about," said Principal Amy Alzina. "It's bringing our parents together, our community partners and, our children and parents and just watching them come to life." 

Kindergartners serenaded the group with a special song about the importance of trees. They also created beautiful cedar birdhouses topped with a live succulent garden. 

Louie Darin's dad was impressed with the wood framing and how well it held the soil. 

"And dad, do you want to hear the best thing?" asked Louie. 

"What's that?" his dad asked. 

"This is the bird house and the top roof they can eat the pests and, the second part it keeps moisture and cool in summer," explained Louie.

"Oh, that's cool!" his dad answered.

The school has a decade-long tree planting partnership with Santa Barbara Beautiful. This year, Santos came out to help the kindergartners plant an orange tree and, answer questions like, 'What happens if bugs eat it?'

Jacqueline Dyson, former President of Santa Barbara Beautiful, also participated in Thursday's campus event.

"How happy we are to be back live in person planting trees with the children at Cold Spring School."

Alzina said the students used some serious math and construction skills while building the cedar birdhouses and credited Miner's Ace Hardware in Goleta for helping with the succulent supply. Dyson added that the kindergartners will watch that orange tree grow each year, as they do.