Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB), the Irving Independent School District (IISD) and the City of Irving Parks Department hosted the annual Arbor Day Celebration at Barton Elementary School Nov. 11.   

In its eighth year, the event honors an Irving Independent School for its outstanding paper recycling efforts during the previous school year.   This year’s winner was Barton Elementary, whose staff and students collected 86,240 pounds of paper in campus recycling bins from August 2015 through July 2016, for an average of 102 pounds per student.  On a beautiful fall morning, students and teachers gathered in the courtyard near the new red oak tree that Irving Parks and Recreation Department staff had planted earlier in the week to honor the school.

Numerous dignitaries attended the celebration, including members of the Irving City Council and the KIB and Tree Board members, to recognize the school for its accomplishment.  Irving City Councilman Allan Meagher read the mayoral proclamation, which had been presented at the previous night’s council meeting. KIB Board President Jim Scrivner presented a glass trophy to the school’s principal, Kelly Giddens.  At the close of the event, students enjoyed meeting KIB mascot Kirby and Smokey the Bear, then posed for pictures in front of the new tree.

Mr. Scrivner, who also serves on the city’s Tree Board and is the IISD Director of Facilities and School Support Services, said, “The Arbor Day celebration began in 2009 as part of Irving becoming a Tree City USA, and has been something we look forward to each year.  We choose the top paper recycler in the district to make the connection between recycling paper and saving trees, and Barton’s efforts alone saved 733 trees.”

This is Barton’s first time winning this award, so the Green Team members and the entire student body are very proud of their accomplishments.

Keep Irving Beautiful is a non-profit, grassroots, leadership organization dedicated to educating our community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of our city. As an award-winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, Keep Irving Beautiful reaches out to all sectors of our city including government, business, church, cultural, educational, neighborhood and civic organizations.  If you are interested in volunteering with KIB, or making your activity a “green event,” please Keep Irving Beautiful, or call (972) 721-2175.