A tree grows in Newport

They give us air and oxygen.

That was the answer given by several Newport Elementary School third-graders when asked why trees are important by Rotary Club of Newport-Balboa President Steve Speer, who opened the school’s Arbor Day tree planting ceremony Monday morning.

The Rotarians presented one “big tree,” a flowering pear, to Newport Elementary and, along with the Rotary Club of Costa Mesa, gave a Podocarpus macrophyllus — or Japanese yew — seedling to every third-grader in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

In its 39th year, the Arbor Day project has distributed more than 90,000 seedlings to generations of students.

“We do this project every year because we want to increase awareness of how important trees are to the environment, especially in light of the global-warming situation,” Speer said. “This is one of our biggest projects, and it’s something that lasts.”

Newport Beach Mayor Steve Rosansky and Councilman Don Webb helped students as they shoveled soil onto the 10-foot flowering pear, which can grow to be 50 feet tall. A young queen palm tree, planted in the school’s kindergarten playground in commemoration of the holiday six years ago, now reaches the building’s rooftop.

“When you plant a tree, it grows, just like you,” Webb said. “So pick a spot with plenty of room.”

Lucky Lucero, 8, planned to sow his seedling in the front yard of his Newport Beach home so everyone could watch it grow.

“I’m excited to plant the tree because it’s really fun,” he said. “It gives a lot of beauty to the area.”

Newport Beach is classified by the Nebraska-based National Arbor Day Foundation as a Sterling Tree City USA, meaning the city meets certain tree planning and maintenance requirements, and increases the budget for such provisions each year. It is one of five California cities to receive the designation.

Newport Beach’s urban forester, John Conway, said the city has about 40,000 public trees valued at approximately $70 million. The majority of the city’s trees are nonnative, with many of them coming from Australia, Southeast Asia and Mexico, homeland to the 80- to 100-feet-tall Mexican fan palms that pepper the horizon.

“There are a lot of reasons why trees are beneficial,” Conway said. “They provide shade and recreational opportunities to the community, and mature trees add a 20% increase to the property value.”