by Heather Wood

Spring is here, and leaves are budding.  As the weather warms, trees will start their summer jobs.  Some will shade our houses and lower air-conditioning bills.  Others will hold clothes lines or hammock strings tied to their branches.  A few will support swings, play houses, and climbing ropes.

The Town of Kernersville will be celebrating its fourth year as a Tree City USA recipient.  The Tree City USA program is nationally recognized and provides the framework for community forestry management for cities and towns across America.

Communities achieve Tree City USA status by meeting four core standards of sound urban forestry management, including:  maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry, and lastly by celebrating Arbor Day.  Participating communities have demonstrated a commitment to caring for and managing their public trees.

The Town of Kernersville will celebrate Arbor Day this year on Friday, April 10th in Harmon Park.  Arbor Day is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees.  Though usually observed in the spring, the date varies depending on climate and a suitable planting season.

The Town’s short ceremony will begin at 10am with a spokesperson from Tree City USA presenting the honorary Tree City USA flag.  The Town invites everyone from our community to attend.  There will be a finger painting area for preschool-aged children to learn about and paint their favorite tree.  Light refreshments will be served.  The N.C. Urban Forest Council will be issuing informative tags to place on certain trees in Harmon Park, Fourth of July Park, and Town Hall.  The tags will have educational information about the tree and the benefits of proper planting locations.  If you are interested in learning more about trees, this would be a great time to visit one of these locations to discover more.

The Kernersville Parks and Recreation Department recently conducted several public input sessions, met with various local organizations, and hosted an online survey in regards to proposed renovations of Civitan Park.  Renovation suggestions include enhanced lighting for safety, more parking, and addressing water runoff issues in the playground area.  In addition, citizens expressed interest in adding a tennis facility, a water feature, an extended walking track with exercise stations, and/or a fenced-in playground.  Professional architects will soon compile all the survey data and propose conceptual sketches to the Parks & Recreation Director, who will then seek grants for funding the renovation.

KPRD Specialty Camps

The Kernersville Parks and Recreation Department also offers specialty camps that are designed to provide activities for many interests.  These camps place special emphasis on activities including games, arts and crafts, drama, and scientific discoveries.  Check out our exciting line-up of Specialty Camps this summer!

Young Sketchers is a wonderful camp in which children will create works of art using basic shapes and learn to “observe” vs. just “see.”  We will develop skills to encourage the practice of drawing in a non-competitive environment alongside friends.

Drama Camp (ages 6-11) activities include group improvisations, silent scenes, dialogue development, scene starters, theater games, arts and crafts, and a whole lot more!  Drama Kids International Instructor Pam Barrans can be contacted online at DramaKids.com/NC1 or by phone at 336-754-4385.

LB3 Camps (ages 8-18) are designed with three key elements in mind: safety, player development, and fun!  To register for lacrosse camp, visit LB3Lacrosse.com for more information.

RDU Tennis Camps (grades K-8) provide an exciting, safe environment for kids to learn the game of tennis through skill building activities.  Instructor Brian Rosenthal will hold the camps at the Fourth of July Park Tennis Courts.  For more information contact Brian at 919-395-7329 or brian@rdutennis.net.

Mad Science Camps will have two exciting opportunities for young scientists to test out their skills this summer.

Locomotion (late June) is all about Movin’ Wheels, Wings and the ‘Wright’ stuff.  Spend the week learning how things move and the forces behind them.  Race mini-hovercrafts and learn about friction. Discover & explore the galaxy and study rocket flight.  What does each part do?  Launch a few rockets too, and keep racing with rubber-band powered cars and helo-flyers.  What is inertia?  You will know after this camp, and you will be able to do a magician’s table cloth pull because of it.  Use an ancient flying machine as your guide to build a cool kite.  There are so many ways to move. Fasten your seat belts for motion, motion, and more motion.

Red-Hot Robots (July) offers junior scientists a week of fun with amazing robots!  Learn about the uses of robots in our world and spend time experimenting with super cool red-hot robots.  Experiment with sound sensing robots, line-tracking robots, swinging robots, and robots that can even play soccer!  Discover the science of circuits and how robots use sensors to explore things around them.  Use your skills to build your very own working robot with interchangeable legs and take it home with you!