Posted on April 29, 2016 at 8:27 AM by Victoria Mulherin
National Arbor Day
National Arbor Day is observed each year on the last Friday in April. Arbor Day is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. Trees provide vital protection for the Earth’s topsoil from erosion, oxygen, and homes for wildlife. They also are a renewable resource that provides a variety of materials for building, fuel and office supplies. Trees beautify our environment, provide shade on a sunny day and improve our quality of life. National Arbor Day celebrates all these things and aims for American generations to come to enjoy all the benefits trees have to offer.
On April 10, 1872, journalist and newspaper editor, J. Sterling Morton, established Arbor Day in the state of Nebraska with hopes that it would spread across the country. This first Arbor Day challenged the people of Nebraska who were pioneers and missed the trees and forests of the east. The challenge was to plant as many trees as they possibly could. The citizens of Nebraska answered the challenge by planting more than 1 million trees that first Arbor Day.
Want to celebrate trees and all they do for us? Here are some ideas of how to get in on the Arbor Day fun:
- Plant a tree
- Write a story, produce a play, or present a skit about trees
- Choose a public park or downtown area to clean up
- Recycle what you can and dispose of the rest properly.
- Read a book about trees
- Learn to identify the trees in your yard by their leaves, bark and seeds.
- Sponsor a craft show featuring exhibitors who engage in crafts with natural materials
- Schedule classes on tree pruning, tree selection, tree identification and tree planting
- Organize a tree identification hike
- Volunteer with a local tree-planting organization