CHECKING ON THE CANOPY: UNITY STUDENTS CHECK FOR GROWTH FROM CAMPUS TREES PLANTED IN MAY 🌳

This past spring, Cicero District 99 partnered with The Morton Arboretum for a special tree-planting event at Unity Junior High School, bringing together students, staff and community partners to invest in a greener, healthier future for all. 

And today, Unity eighth graders who helped plant 10 campus trees in May checked on their progress and health this morning with the help Principal Heather Mathis, Associate Principal Cory Kalyvas, Superintendent Aldo Calderin, Board of Education President Tom Tomschin and others from the school board.

Held thanks to an ongoing collaboration between District 99 and The Morton Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI), this spring's tree-planting extravaganza was part of Cicero's greater mission of improving the town's tree canopy and focus on environmental equity in an otherwise highly-urban, dense suburb.

In tandem with the tree planting event, the Arboretum’s CRTI program is continuing to foster a partnership with District 99 and Unity Junior High School, working together to transform the school’s campus into a Level One Arboretum — an accreditation which covers the core functions of an arboretum and represents a major accomplishment in an organization’s commitment to the care of its trees and landscaping. 

Today, Cicero students were reminded that trees not only add beauty to the campus of a school — they offer an abundance of environmental benefits as well, both in the present and for future generations.