East and West met at Eleanor Roosevelt High School (ERHS) on Wednesday, November 13 at a celebration of cherry trees and Japanese culture. The students and staff of ERHS commemorated the planting of six cherry trees donated by All Nippon Airways (ANA), in collaboration with the National Cherry Blossom Festival (NCBF). This year marked 30 years that ERHS has been a part of a cultural exchange program with Japanese sister schools. Three Yoshino cherry trees are now growing alongside the entryway to the campus, and another three are near the intersection of Greenbelt Road and Frankfort Street. Though leafless now, they should be in full bloom next spring. More than the trees themselves, the planting ceremony had significance for the ERHS students, representatives from ANA and NCBF, and the Prince George’s County Public School (PGCPS) staff.
For the students, this ceremony was an opportunity for the students to put their practice to the test and engage more deeply with the culture of Japan. One Eleanor Roosevelt student, Tiffany Song, performed the traditional piece “Sakura, Sakura” on a koto, a Japanese 13-string instrument; the song was later sung in Japanese by a group of Level 3 Japanese students dressed in kimonos. The song was timely as the lyrics focus on the beauty and fragrance of the Sakura or cherry blossom. The event also brought back memories for students who had traveled to Japan through the exchange program.
Naohiro Terekawa, the vice president of ANA, said that he saw ANA’s donation of the six cherry trees as continuing the legacy started by the 1912 donation of over 3,000 cherry trees from Tokyo to the District of Columbia. Terekawa presented a plaque to Principal Reginald McNeill to be posted near the trees, which reads that the trees are planted in honor of the friendship between the United States and Japan.
Considerable care was taken by ERHS and the NCBF Tree Planting Program to make sure that the gifts were well received. Over the past six months, soil inspections around the campus were made to ensure that the trees would have the nutrients to thrive. Carol Herwig, an arborist for the NCBF, also took into account the public visibility that the trees would have. With the trees positioned along the entryway and overlooking the Greenbelt Road and Frankfort Street intersection, it is her hope that they will serve as a greeting come spring.
For PGCPS staff, the event held great significance. Maria Flores, supervisor for Prince George’s County World Language program, emphasized the rarity of 30-year cultural exchange programs, as they require a lot of time and commitment to be sustained. Dr. Sylvester Conyers, the supervisor for environmental education, reminded students that the gift is also symbolic of the global responsibility we have to care for our shared environment. Tetsuya Ogawa, Japanese language teacher for ERHS and the 2016 Prince George’s County World Language Teacher of the Year connected these sentiments, as ERHS intends to look after these trees for a long time. He also hopes to see his students take care of the cultural exchange program for another 30 years.
