Seventh-grade students at Lehighton Area Middle School planted a few more trees on Friday at the outdoor environmental center in honor of Arbor Day.

Mike Trotta, a forester with PPL, assisted with planting two hydrangea bushes, a lilac tree and an arborvitae.Trotta represented PPL, which had once again donated 120 seedling trees for students to take home and plant.This was the 15th year PPL has worked with the Lehighton School District to organize an Arbor Day program.Also making a presentation was Lehighton Mayor Tom Mase, who proclaimed April 25, 2014, as Arbor Day in Lehighton. Mase allowed several students to help read the proclamation.The program was organized by seventh-grade science teacher Joe Yescavage. The tree planting and outdoor classes are part of the annual Arbor Day program held in the outdoor environmental center at the school. The environmental center, an outdoor classroom, was founded 17 years ago by Yescavage to give his students some outdoor hands-on instruction.Each year Yescavage, the Lehighton Shade Tree Commission and PPL come together to help the students celebrate trees.PPL does its part by donating shrubs and trees to the school's environmental center and seedlings for students to take home and plant to help educate students about proper tree planting for the environment and to protect power lines.Trees provide a home and food for wildlife and birds, plus trees give homes protection from sun and wind, thus helping homeowners with the costs of cooling and heating homes, plus providing oxygen into the atmosphere.Trotta said trees are useful, but that it is important to use common sense when planting so they don't interfere with power lines, buildings or other structures when they grow.Trotta said it was important to remove the plastic bucket on the bottom of the lilac tree but to leave the top of the root system above ground level. He noted that many people plant trees or shrubs too deep.In honor of Arbor Day, Frank Snyder, service forester for the Department of Community and Natural Resources, declared that Lehighton has been named a Tree City USA for the 21st year.For more information about planning trees, see the PPL website at

www.pplweb.com/vegetation.Anyone planting trees should consider making a call to PA One Call to make sure they are not planting trees on a utility line.