The Kousa Dogwood tree donated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is growing outside Old Hammondtown Elementary School. It is a pleasing addition to the campus but more importantly a symbol that Mattapoisett kids care about their trees.
The tree came to the town because Emma Lowe’s winning entry in the 2023 fifth-grade tree-poster contest was also the first-place finisher at the state level. Her classmates helped plant it on an island inside the front parking lot at Old Hammondtown.
Emma set a high bar for this year’s contest, and of 29 entries, the consensus among 19 judges was that Cabot Van Keuren (first place) and Hadlee Weeden (second place) best captured the spirit of the 2024 contest.
The theme “Heathy Trees, Healthy Towns” was more than evident in Cabot’s colorful depiction of the Mattapoisett Village and Shipyard Park.
“I thought maybe it would be a good idea for Mattapoisett if I did what Mattapoisett’s known for – for the wharf. … This bench, I have known, has been there so I decided to do that,” said the 11-year-old. “Healthy trees get mostly more air for the environment to make it healthier. That’s pretty much what I thought in the beginning.”
Mattapoisett is one of over 3,500 officially recognized as Tree City USA municipalities by the Arbor Day Foundation.
A proposed plan to take down several trees in the village has been the subject of debate during recent public meetings for Sandy Hering, Mattapoisett Tree Committee chairperson, who was thrilled to see the students’ artwork when winners were announced on March 15 at Old Hammondtown.
Hadlee, who turns 11 on April 6, deliberated on her own participation until she saw her friends were entering the contest.
“I thought I’ll give it a shot, and this is my first year doing it. too,” said Hadlee, whose drawing is a dichotomy of sunny day versus cloudy day against the backdrop of recreation areas and houses.
Cabot’s drawing illustrates various shades of blue depicting depths of the ocean proportional to their distance from the shore, along with a bright sunset. Cabot said he doesn’t consider himself an artist, but he likes a challenge.
“It ended up better than I thought,” he said.
Hering, Jodi Bauer of the Mattapoisett Select Board and Nancy Souza of the Tree Committee were on hand to congratulate the students, who received local pizza coupons as a token of their effort.
Like Emma’s winning poster last year, Cabot’s winning poster will be entered into the statewide competition. All of the entries in this year’s contest will be on display through Saturday, March 23, at the Mattapoisett Library.
By Mick Colageo