Seedlings for Students Program Named for Late Juliano

Twelve hundred third- and fourth-graders in Peabody each got their very own seedlings on Wednesday to plant in their backyard or wherever or else they'd like to sprout a lilac tree, rose of sharon or a blue spruce.

The city's forestry department has distributed trees to elementary students for many years to coincide with Arbor Day and about five years ago, the local chapter of the AARP joined forces with the city to volunteer in packaging and distributing the seedlings.

That effort was led by the late Anthony Juliano, who was a dedicated member and past president of the AARP and involved in many other community activities. This year, the program was officially named in his honor: the "Anthony Juliano Seedling Project."

On Tuesday, Juliano's wife Carolyn joined several AARP volunteers and Parks, Recreation and Forestry Director Jen Davis at Brooksby Farm to package up the seedlings before they were delivered to the city's eight elementary schools and to St. John the Baptist School.