By Amy Batista, Special Writer
HIGHTSTOWN – The Hightstown Environmental Commission was looking to jazz things up a little bit with a new logo. And fifth-grader Jimin Kim had the answer.
Jimin, a student at Grace N. Rogers School, produced the winning design in the contest – open to students in all the local schools and residents of the community – to come up with a new environmentally friendly logo for the commission.
Participants were asked to develop an environmental slogan with a matching logo drawing to be displayed on the borough website, the commission’s Facebook page, and the t-shirts for the April 23 Arbor Day celebration.
More than 40 entries were submitted by the end of March, with the majority coming from Grace N. Rogers School, according to commission chairwoman Barbara Jones.
“A couple of months ago, the Environmental Commission in Hightstown decided that we needed a new logo,” said Ms. Jones. “Something to jazz up everything that we use to display stuff.”
Mayor Larry Quattrone, Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholder Chair Ann Cannon, Freeholder Andrew Koontz, nnvironmental commissioners, library representatives, family, friends and Jimin’s teacher from Grace N. Roger Elementary School were in attendance April 23 for the announcement of the contest’s winner.
Jimin’s design featured a forest with deer, birds, rabbits and foxes.
“I thought the big tree in the middle would represent nature,” said Jimin.
“We got quite a few awesome logos and designs,” said Ms. Jones.
She added that Jimin’s design also includes the words “Stop the pollution, start the solution,” saying that seemed like the perfect way for the commission to define its goals and purposes in Hightstown.
Jimin was awarded a plaque featuring the new logo, a t-shirt featuring the new logo, a $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble and five sapling trees to plant.
“This is in honor of her efforts and it’s got her design on it,” said Ms. Jones, adding that the plaque was signed by Mayor Larry Quattrone.
Mayor Quattrone and Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders Chair Ann Cannon both added their compliments and thanks to Jimin.
“We hope this new environmental slogan and logo will resonant with our community,” said Ms. Jones in a follow-up email.
Those attending the April 23 event were given sapling trees to plant in celebration of Arbor Day on April 29. The trees came from the New Jersey Tree Recovery Program.
“The importance of their ongoing tree plantings is to maintain a decent tree canopy in the town,” said Ms. Jones. “We worry that many people view trees as a problem, falling leaves and limbs, roots impacting sidewalks, yet trees are so critical to the health of our environment.”
Not only do they provide shade and minimize the effects of heat islands, but they sequester carbon, offer wildlife critical habitat, and enhance property values, she added.
Ms. Jones said that most homeowners don’t think about the critical role trees play in increasing their property values, but as most people walking on a suburban or urban street recognize, trees improve a street’s aesthetic, just as they offer shade and a buffer from the wind.
“An important goal of the Hightstown Environmental Commission is to encourage a tree ethic in our borough that appreciates and respects the tangible and intangible benefits trees provide,” she said.
