Chicago school children in all 50 wards were bound together by a unique ribbon project that honored trees on Arbor Day, April 24.

More than 2,000 fourth graders wrote passages on green ribbons about why trees are important to them. They were hung on an elm tree proudly named Triumph, after President Barack Obama’s triumphant victory speech on Michigan Avenue, according to Gina Tedesco, spokeswoman for the Morton Arboretum, which supplied the ribbons.

The Triumph elm was moved to Grant Park on April 25 and planted in Hutchinson Field, where President Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech.

“It is important to give children an appreciation for trees at a young age. The attempt here is to help create tomorrow’s environmental leaders,” Tedesco said. “Children need to have an appreciation for trees so that when they grown up, they’ll be more likely to want to take care of trees and nature.”

Global warming has been a heavily debated topic for the past few years, and planting trees is a small step that can be taken to preserve the environment. Trees contribute to slowing global warming by releasing oxygen, filtering pollutants and mitigating the heat-island effect.

“The heat-island effect creates a cooling effect, which allows people to use less energy,” Tedesco said. “A tree can shade a house, which would avoid the use of an air conditioner, and that saves energy.”

The Morton Arboretum’s theme for this year’s Arbor Day was “One Tree Makes a Difference,” and it has made a difference for the fourth graders who participated in the ribbon decorations, according to the Arboretum. The plan was for children to start taking initiative and thinking how they can make the world a greener place to live.

“The ribbon project is a far-reaching effort to unite kids throughout Chicago in a single tree celebration and education project,” said Edith Makra, arborist and community trees advocate with the Morton Arboretum, in a press release.

To make the project even more enticing and engaging for children, the Arboretum partnered with the Chicago Bureau of Forestry and cooperators to facilitate in-school Arbor Day presentations. During these presentations each student received an Arboretum-supplied booklets which contained educational puzzles, brainteasers and a tree-planting kit.

The presentations make a tremendous impact on students by giving them a hands-on experience, Makra said in a press release.

Students became more hands-on and involved in the project, through which they actually get to plant trees and better their communities.

The arboretum is also going to have a hand in tree plantings at schools in all of the 50 wards by coming to them and planting trees with the fourth graders who participated in the ribbon writing activity.

“Trees make a beautiful touch to the world,” a student from Pritzker School said. “They are so beautiful in the fall, when their leaves change different colors. When their leaves fall, we have colorful sidewalks.”

Many children in the Chicago Public School system are not aware of the importance of trees, said Tedesco.

“Part of the reason [we’re] coming to these schools is to motivate and inform children,” Tedesco said. “The other part is for adults, also, to hear the call to action—to plant and protect trees.”

If adults can’t plant trees because of their housing situation, such as those in condominiums and apartments, the Arboretum encourages them to get involved by joining a conservation organization or a group that plants trees, Tedesco said.