Industrial arts students in Seaside took to Cartwright Park last Monday.

Connor Long and Daniel Schirmer were joined by woods class teacher Jeff Corliss and landscape contractor and designer Pam Fleming to add protection to a young ginkgo tree.

The tree, which marks the 75th anniversary of the close of World War II, was delivered in 2020 as Seaside joined other communities throughout the state in planting the peace tree.

The seedling ginkgo and Asian persimmon trees were grown from seed collected from trees that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and brought to Oregon by Medford resident Hideko Tamura Snider, who survived the bombing.

Tamura Snider is the founder of the One Sunny Day Initiative, which along with the Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon Community Trees helped distribute the trees across the state.

In locating the tree in Cartwright Park, Fleming and Dale McDowell, the city’s Public Works director, selected the southern area of the park.

The Seaside Tree Board’s Bill Barnes reached out to Corliss at the high school with the fence proposal.

They found plans online for the Japanese-style fence, which stands about 4 feet high.

While still small, the tree could grow from 30 to 45 feet, Fleming said.

Schirmer, a senior, has taken wood classes since freshman year. Long is a freshman. Both hope to make careers in the construction trades.