DAPHNE, Ala.—The early birds got the trees Saturday after Arbor Day Foundation state poster champ Lauren Stewart snipped a ribbon surrounding Village Point Park Preserve, where 3,700 plants were donated by the Daphne Beautification Committee.

Species including red bud, cherry, dogwood, crepe myrtle, bald cypress, silver bell, red maple and willow oak were among the trees that residents quickly reserved at the city’s annual event.

But the trees—though in high demand—stood second to the day’s top story: Lauren, a Daphne East Elementary fifth-grader and first-place winner in Alabama’s Arbor Day poster contest. Nudging out 1,200 entries from 45 schools statewide, her art work—an idyllic scene where nature thrives in cities and towns—netted the top spot, a first for Daphne since its fifth-graders participated in the annual competition, school officials have said.

“To me, Arbor Day is important because it gives everyone a chance to give back to nature,” she said, and asked the crowd to imagine a world where everyone planted just one tree.

Lauren during the ceremony was awarded a year of free ice cream courtesy of Toyota, national sponsor of the competition, and was given a medal by Beautification Committee member Carolyn Coleman, honoring Lauren’s Arbor Day advocacy. The student had participated in a Feb. 24 tree-planting ceremony with Alabama First Lady Patsy Riley on the capitol grounds, and received an Arbor Week Proclamation signed by Gov. Bob Riley.

If her poster is voted a national first-place winner, she, along with her parents and teacher, Tommie Autrey, will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Nebraska City— home of Arbor Day—and participate in the National Awards Weekend.

To support Lauren, visit www.arborday.org between March 30 and April 3 and select her drawing as the National Arbor Day poster-contest winner for 2009. The national winner will be announced on Arbor Day.

Tom Tobin of Daphne said he arrived about a half-hour early for Saturday’s Arbor Day celebration because, as he’s learned, “these trees go fast. If you want to get a hold of some of the more popular species, you have to make an effort.”

He left with an armful of dogwoods, redbuds and okame cherry trees.

But a woman who arrived an hour late, hoping to land an evergreen, was confronted with stacks of empty bins; still, she settled for a willow oak. 

After less than an hour, just two of 23 species remained.

To help with the rest, committee chairperson Whitney Wingbermuehle, doling bald cypresses, cheered, “Bald is beautiful!” 

Such spirit indicated her love of trees and—as the Daphne Bulletin learned—her wish that the Jubilee City, like other municipalities, had a tree board.

The city lacks such a board because it keeps a horticulturist on staff, Marshall Parsons, who fills that position, said.

“We fulfill the requirement as a ‘tree city’ by my position,” he said, referring to four standards established by The Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters.

Tree City USA, according to the foundation, requires that a city must have:

Still, Parsons said the creation of a tree board would be beneficial.

“The more citizens involved makes a better community,” he said.

Wingbermuehle said residents can complete a current survey on the matter. Questions include whether the city should require planting replacement trees if some are chopped down; if residents are aware of—and agree with—the city’s current tree ordinance; and if a tree ordinance should be adopted to provide certain native-species conservation. For more information on the survey,  due April 10, call 626-5287.

Future Farmers of America  played a large role in putting Saturday’s event together, according to Parsons.

“I really can’t thank FFA enough,” he said.

About 120 student-volunteers joined in the effort, according to supervisor Andy Jones, an FFA volunteer who said last weekend’s event, and others like it, “really mean something to our community.”

According to the Arbor Day Foundation Web site, J. Sterling Morton began a tree-planting holiday after becoming secretary of the timber-deprived Nebraska territory; he proposed that the first Arbor Day be held on April 10, 1872. That year, more than 1 million trees were planted. The holiday spread and became a national tradition by the end of the 19th century. Arbor Day is typically celebrated on the last Friday of April, and is scheduled for April 24 of this year. 

Mayor Fred Small issued his own Arbor Day proclamation, saying trees are invaluable because they can reduce erosion of topsoil by wind and water; cut heating and cooling costs; moderate global temperatures; clean our air; produce oxygen; and provide habitats for wildlife.

The proclamation states that trees are an excellent resource for paper; fuel for fires; wood for homes; and can increase property values, as well as “enhance the economic vitality” of businesses.

Editor Thomas Boni and Staff Writer Sasha Heller contributed to this report.