By Marisa Dawson
The City of Bennington, the Bennington Tree Board, Flower Posse, and the Bennington Woman’s Club joined forces on Friday, April 24 to mark Arbor Day with a community tree-planting event at Logemann Park behind the baseball fields. Public Works Director Layne Laaker and Assistant Director Derek Brechbill led the efforts, planting a native Nebraskan Prairie Gold Quaking Aspen donated by the Woman’s Club, with help from Bennington High School students.
Cookies donated by Eileen’s Cookies added a sweet touch to the gathering, which included a short proclamation ceremony read by Laaker and signed by Mayor Clint Adams.
Assistant Director Derek Brechbill explained the broader goals for the planting: “For the Celebrate Trees and Arbor Day ceremony Layne and I will plant 10 trees of 9 different varieties. Our goal for this year is to expand and diversify our community forest as well as replace some trees that aren’t thriving. While those won’t fail anytime soon, we’re trying to stay ahead of the curve as well as honor those for whom several of these trees were planted in memorial.”
Brechbill noted that shifting USDA zones in the Omaha Metro Area due to changing climate patterns now allow for a broader variety of trees that should thrive locally. The group specifically planted a Prairie Gold Quaking Aspen, a Nebraska-native species more commonly associated with northern areas like the Niobrara but increasingly successful farther south. “Not a lot of people realize that aspens are, in fact, native to Nebraska,” Brechbill said. “They are found typically further up north. The Niobrara area especially has quite a few. With our change of weather patterns… they are starting to thrive down here.”
The event also served an educational purpose. “Our goal for this event is to teach proper tree planting techniques, along with basic care and pruning,” Brechbill added. He emphasized proactive stewardship, adding, “It’s all about teaching, you know, why we’re planting, what we’re planting, where we’re planting. Just being proactive in our environment.”
Bennington has maintained its Tree City USA designation for approximately 35 years, a program that recognizes communities for their commitment to urban forestry. The city works to plant more trees than it removes, targeting native species to restore what has been lost to development. Past efforts include leadership from former Public Works Director John Bohrer, who was honored as Arborist of the Year by the Nebraska Arborist Association.
Miriam Sukraw, representing the Bennington Flower Posse and the Bennington Women’s Club, highlighted the club’s long-standing support. “The Women’s Club in Bennington has, for years and years, as long as I can remember, been supporting the environment in Bennington by donating a tree for Arbor Day.” She noted that the club also backs the Tree Board and helps fulfill one of the requirements for Tree City USA status through the annual Arbor Day observance.
Sukraw added that the Women’s Club donated two trees last year in the same area of Logemann Park, and this year’s donation will allow the group to designate and mark those trees along with the new aspen. “The Women’s Club exists for community service and to do what we can to make the place beautiful and enjoy living here.”
The roughly five-acre section of Logemann Park, donated by Darrell & Coe Leta Logemann (with part still used for farming), features a more natural look along the creek, including wildflowers and a developing “pocket prairie.” Brechbill described efforts to use low herbicide treatments and keep the space as native as possible, while encouraging public use: “If you want to bring your dog out here and let your dog just run, you know, that’s absolutely acceptable… You can actually get down to the creek, too.”
Four students from the National Honor Society and three from the Outdoor Club participated. Freshman Elliott Weiserodt, a member of the Outdoor Club and a baseball player, shared his perspective: “It’s actually pretty cool because I didn’t know that we did this. And I’ve been seeing all the trees coming up around the Bennington area, especially around the baseball fields… So it’s a pretty cool experience.” He added that the club’s involvement stems from a desire to preserve the outdoors: “We’re a group that cares about the outdoors. We want to make sure the outdoors are preserved, that we’re not losing all this beautiful stuff that we have around us.”
The official proclamation read at the event underscored trees’ many benefits: “Whereas trees can be a solution to combating climate change by reducing the erosion of our precious topsoil by wind and water, cutting heating, cooling costs, moderating the temperature, cleaning the air, producing life-giving oxygen and giving habitat for wildlife… Whereas trees in our city increase property values, enhance the economic vitality in business areas, beautify our community and whereas trees, wherever they are planted, are a source of joy and spiritual renewal.”
A Few Facts About Arbor Day in Nebraska
– Arbor Day originated in Nebraska. On January 4, 1872, J. Sterling Morton proposed the idea to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture as a special day for planting trees. The first Arbor Day was observed on April 10, 1872, with an estimated one million trees planted across the state.
– Nebraska’s treeless prairies inspired the holiday; early settlers needed trees for windbreaks, fuel, building materials, shade, and soil protection.
– The holiday is now observed nationwide and internationally, but Nebraska remains its birthplace. It is a civic holiday in the state, traditionally held on the last Friday in April.
– Tree City USA, the program Bennington participates in, was founded in 1976 by the Arbor Day Foundation and celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026. Communities earn the designation by meeting standards that include an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
The event reflected Bennington’s ongoing commitment to a greener, more resilient community forest, one tree at a time.
