The 12 winners of the Delaware Forest Service poster contest join officials at the 2026 Arbor Day ceremony in Lewes May 1. The theme was, Trees are Terrific for People and Places. The students received recognition for their artwork and planting two trees near the Lewes library pavilion. Students are Jishnu Shankar of Hockessin, Shuvam Kaity of Hockessin, Conor Petrie of Ocean View, Iyla Gordon of Seaford, Liam Rivera of Smyrna, Amaya Fruits of Magnolia, Theresa Sherman of Dover, Saanvi Komatineni of Middletown, Sophie Benjamin of Camden, Emma Berry of Selbyville, Miki Thantharanont of Wilmington and Sunny Smith of Rehoboth Beach. Adults in back are (l-r)Ashley Melvin, Delaware State Forest Service; Dan Lambe, CEO, National Arbor Day Foundation; and Kyle Hoyd, Delaware state forester. BILL SHULL PHOTOS
Sunny Smith of Rehoboth Elementary receives a certificate for her winning entry in the poster contest. She won first place in Sussex County for grades 3 and 4. Shown with Smith are (l-r) Rep. Ron Gray, R-Selbyville; Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall, D-Rehoboth Beach; Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes; Lewes Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba; Kyle Hoyd, Delaware state forester; Nikko Brady, deputy chief of staff, Governor’s Office; Agriculture Secretary Don Clifton; and Dan Lambe, CEO, National Arbor Day Foundation.
Conor Petrie of Lord Baltimore Elementary in Ocean View receives a certificate for his first-place poster in Sussex County for grades 1 and 2.
Iyla Gordon of St. John’s Preschool in Seaford receives her certificate. She won first place in Sussex County in the kindergarten category.
Emma Berry of the Delaware School of the Arts in Selbyville receives her certificate. She won first place in Sussex County in the fifth-grade category.
Taryn Davidson of the Delaware State Forest Service shows students how to plant their tree outside the Lewes Public Library May 1.
Students are eager to grab their shovels and start digging. They planted two trees as part of this year’s Arbor Day celebration in Lewes.
Liam Rivera, a poster contest winner from Smyrna, wears shades while helping to plant an Arbor Day tree.
Shuvam Kaity, a fifth-grader from North Star Elementary in Hockessin, is this year's overall statewide poster contest winner.
The overall statewide poster contest winning entry, showcasing the theme that “Trees are Terrific for People and Places.”
The Greater Lewes Foundation receives the 2026 Pioneer Award from the Delaware State Forest Service for its conservation efforts. Shown are (l-r) Rep. Ron Gray, R-Selbyville; Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall, D-Rehoboth Beach; Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes; Jim Ford, Greater Lewes Foundation; Hugh Leahy, Greater Lewes Foundation; Khalil Saliba, Lewes deputy mayor; John Schroeder, Greater Lewes Foundation; Kyle Hoyd, Delaware state forester; Nikko Brady, deputy chief of staff, Governor’s Office; Agriculture Secretary Don Clifton; and Dan Lambe, CEO, National Arbor Day Foundation.
The 12 winners of the Delaware Forest Service poster contest join officials at the 2026 Arbor Day ceremony in Lewes May 1. The theme was, Trees are Terrific for People and Places. The students received recognition for their artwork and planting two trees near the Lewes library pavilion. Students are Jishnu Shankar of Hockessin, Shuvam Kaity of Hockessin, Conor Petrie of Ocean View, Iyla Gordon of Seaford, Liam Rivera of Smyrna, Amaya Fruits of Magnolia, Theresa Sherman of Dover, Saanvi Komatineni of Middletown, Sophie Benjamin of Camden, Emma Berry of Selbyville, Miki Thantharanont of Wilmington and Sunny Smith of Rehoboth Beach. Adults in back are (l-r)Ashley Melvin, Delaware State Forest Service; Dan Lambe, CEO, National Arbor Day Foundation; and Kyle Hoyd, Delaware state forester. BILL SHULL PHOTOS
Sunny Smith of Rehoboth Elementary receives a certificate for her winning entry in the poster contest. She won first place in Sussex County for grades 3 and 4. Shown with Smith are (l-r) Rep. Ron Gray, R-Selbyville; Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall, D-Rehoboth Beach; Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes; Lewes Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba; Kyle Hoyd, Delaware state forester; Nikko Brady, deputy chief of staff, Governor’s Office; Agriculture Secretary Don Clifton; and Dan Lambe, CEO, National Arbor Day Foundation.
Conor Petrie of Lord Baltimore Elementary in Ocean View receives a certificate for his first-place poster in Sussex County for grades 1 and 2.
Iyla Gordon of St. John’s Preschool in Seaford receives her certificate. She won first place in Sussex County in the kindergarten category.
Emma Berry of the Delaware School of the Arts in Selbyville receives her certificate. She won first place in Sussex County in the fifth-grade category.
Taryn Davidson of the Delaware State Forest Service shows students how to plant their tree outside the Lewes Public Library May 1.
Students are eager to grab their shovels and start digging. They planted two trees as part of this year’s Arbor Day celebration in Lewes.
Liam Rivera, a poster contest winner from Smyrna, wears shades while helping to plant an Arbor Day tree.
Shuvam Kaity, a fifth-grader from North Star Elementary in Hockessin, is this year's overall statewide poster contest winner.
The overall statewide poster contest winning entry, showcasing the theme that “Trees are Terrific for People and Places.”
The Greater Lewes Foundation receives the 2026 Pioneer Award from the Delaware State Forest Service for its conservation efforts. Shown are (l-r) Rep. Ron Gray, R-Selbyville; Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall, D-Rehoboth Beach; Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes; Jim Ford, Greater Lewes Foundation; Hugh Leahy, Greater Lewes Foundation; Khalil Saliba, Lewes deputy mayor; John Schroeder, Greater Lewes Foundation; Kyle Hoyd, Delaware state forester; Nikko Brady, deputy chief of staff, Governor’s Office; Agriculture Secretary Don Clifton; and Dan Lambe, CEO, National Arbor Day Foundation.
A group of 12 students picked up shovels and went to work planting two trees outside the Lewes Public Library May 1, as part of the Delaware Forest Service's Arbor Day ceremony.
Those students know how to celebrate trees. They were all winners of the statewide 2026 Forest Service poster contest, chosen from 7,000 entries. This year’s theme was, Trees are Terrific for People and Places.
“Planting a tree is a simple act," said Kyle Hoyd, state forester. "But what folks don’t realize about planting that tree is the lasting impact that it makes. Each one of your posters makes a lasting impact in Delaware.”
The Sussex County winners were:
Kindergarten – Iyla Gordon, St. John’s Preschool, Seaford
Grades 1 and 2 – Conor Petrie, Lord Baltimore Elementary, Ocean View
Grades 3 and 4 – Sunny Smith, Rehoboth Elementary, Rehoboth Beach
Grade 5 – Emma Berry, Southern Delaware School of the Arts, Selbyville.
The statewide winner was Shuvam Kaity, a fifth-grader at North Star Elementary in Hockessin.
The winners joined local and state officials on stage at the library’s outdoor pavilion to show off their work and receive certificates.
Nikko Brady, Gov. Matt Meyer’s deputy chief of staff, read a proclamation declaring May 1, 2026, as Arbor Day in Delaware.
One of the distinguished guests was Dan Lambe, CEO of the National Arbor Day Foundation, who flew in from Nebraska for the event.
“Trees cool our communities, clean our air, create habitats and make us healthier," he said. "Trees bring people together to do great things. So, thank you students for being champions of trees."
The Greater Lewes Foundation took Lambe on a tour of the city’s preserved open space: Fourth Street Forest, the New Road field and Ard Na Greine, which is just outside city limits.
The forest service presented the GLF with the 2026 Pioneer Award for its efforts to conserve the state’s forests.
The GLF raised $8 million to buy the Fourth Street Preserve on behalf of the city. Work is underway to turn the 29-acre parcel into the state’s first urban forest.
But, this Arbor Day belonged to the students who are getting an early start on their commitment to conservation.
“I look forward to seeing what you guys are going to do as environmental stewards of the land as you grow, just like those mighty oaks that we have in our forests,” Hoyd said.
The 12 winners of the Delaware Forest Service poster contest join officials at the 2026 Arbor Day ceremony in Lewes May 1. The theme was, Trees are Terrific for People and Places. The students received recognition for their artwork and planting two trees near the Lewes library pavilion. Students are Jishnu Shankar of Hockessin, Shuvam Kaity of Hockessin, Conor Petrie of Ocean View, Iyla Gordon of Seaford, Liam Rivera of Smyrna, Amaya Fruits of Magnolia, Theresa Sherman of Dover, Saanvi Komatineni of Middletown, Sophie Benjamin of Camden, Emma Berry of Selbyville, Miki Thantharanont of Wilmington and Sunny Smith of Rehoboth Beach. Adults in back are (l-r)Ashley Melvin, Delaware State Forest Service; Dan Lambe, CEO, National Arbor Day Foundation; and Kyle Hoyd, Delaware state forester. BILL SHULL PHOTOS
Sunny Smith of Rehoboth Elementary receives a certificate for her winning entry in the poster contest. She won first place in Sussex County for grades 3 and 4. Shown with Smith are (l-r) Rep. Ron Gray, R-Selbyville; Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall, D-Rehoboth Beach; Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes; Lewes Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba; Kyle Hoyd, Delaware state forester; Nikko Brady, deputy chief of staff, Governor’s Office; Agriculture Secretary Don Clifton; and Dan Lambe, CEO, National Arbor Day Foundation.
Conor Petrie of Lord Baltimore Elementary in Ocean View receives a certificate for his first-place poster in Sussex County for grades 1 and 2.
Iyla Gordon of St. John’s Preschool in Seaford receives her certificate. She won first place in Sussex County in the kindergarten category.
Emma Berry of the Delaware School of the Arts in Selbyville receives her certificate. She won first place in Sussex County in the fifth-grade category.
Taryn Davidson of the Delaware State Forest Service shows students how to plant their tree outside the Lewes Public Library May 1.
Students are eager to grab their shovels and start digging. They planted two trees as part of this year’s Arbor Day celebration in Lewes.
Liam Rivera, a poster contest winner from Smyrna, wears shades while helping to plant an Arbor Day tree.
Shuvam Kaity, a fifth-grader from North Star Elementary in Hockessin, is this year's overall statewide poster contest winner.
The overall statewide poster contest winning entry, showcasing the theme that “Trees are Terrific for People and Places.”
The Greater Lewes Foundation receives the 2026 Pioneer Award from the Delaware State Forest Service for its conservation efforts. Shown are (l-r) Rep. Ron Gray, R-Selbyville; Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall, D-Rehoboth Beach; Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes; Jim Ford, Greater Lewes Foundation; Hugh Leahy, Greater Lewes Foundation; Khalil Saliba, Lewes deputy mayor; John Schroeder, Greater Lewes Foundation; Kyle Hoyd, Delaware state forester; Nikko Brady, deputy chief of staff, Governor’s Office; Agriculture Secretary Don Clifton; and Dan Lambe, CEO, National Arbor Day Foundation.Event Details :
