Blain grand prize winner in annual Lovell Elementary School Arbor Day poster contest

Ten talented fifth graders at Lovell Elementary School were honored for their artistic work and their love of trees during the annual Lovell Arbor Day celebration and tree planting Thursday at Armory Park.

The students, winners of the annual Arbor Day poster contest at LES, were presented prizes in a ceremony conducted by Town of Lovell Parks Director Kelton Wagner and Bighorn Canyon Chief of Interpretation Christy Fleming, as well as a ranger from the Bighorn National Forest. Smokey Bear was also in attendance at the event.

The theme of this year’s contest was We All Need Trees.

Third-place winners, each receiving a portable cornhole game, were Kyndee Anderson, Wyatt Hendershot and Oakley Wardell. Second-place winners, awarded a glow-in-the-dark game, were Blakely Piper, Kennadee Roper and Caybree Baxendale.

First-place poster contest winners were Adalyn Waltjen, Hazel Hiser and Paxton Fink, each receiving a scooter. The grand prize winner was Camden Blain, who won a Kindle. The prizes were sponsored by the Town of Lovell, which has conducted the Arbor Day contest and tree planting for many years through the Tree City USA program.

Blain’s grand prize poster was submitted to the state Arbor Day poster contest, which is sponsored by the Wyoming State Forestry Division and Project Learning Tree.

Following the poster contest presentation, fifth-grade students fanned out into Armory Park to help plant trees along the southeast portion of the park near the softball field. The trees were set in place by the parks crew, and the students worked to fill in the dirt.