What is Arbor Day and What Can You Do in Your Town?
Arbor Day is a national celebration to observe the importance of planting trees. The brainchild and lifelong passion of J. Sterling Morton, a man who loved trees and agriculture in general, Arbor Day began as a local Nebraska state holiday. It was first officially observed on April 10, 1874, and the state observance was slated for April 22, which was Morton’s birthday.
It was estimated that on the first Arbor Day, over a million trees were planted across the state of Nebraska.
Today, the most common observance of Arbor Day is the last Friday in April. Many states however observe Arbor Day when the weather is best for tree planting, which can range from January and February in the south, to the end of May in the far north.
Arbor Day is usually observed by holding festive parades along “Main Street”, and giving speeches about the importance of planting trees and caring for the earth, but it always includes the planting of a large number of trees.
The Arbor Day Foundation has several ideas for fun activities that you can host in your town to commemorate Arbor Day:
- Make Arbor Day memorable by holding a parade
- Organize beautification projects
- Dedicate a tree in a park or public place
- Host an art or poetry contest about trees and nature
- Sponsor plays and pageants for children about trees
- Hold tree identification tours to educate people about prominent, local trees
- Encourage businesses to dedicate a tree, a grove of trees or a forest
- Local nurseries can host open house events
- Encourage neighborhood and civic associations to host block parties where members adopt and care for the trees in their neighborhoods
- Orchestrate mass tree planting projects
Arbor Day provides a great opportunity to educate and inform your local town about the role trees play in our lives and how much they help improve our environment. Working with young children and teaching them to respect nature and to value trees will help ensure that they maintain those values as they grow into adulthood.
Arbor Day is an opportunity for local businesses and organizations to sponsor or contribute to tree planting and local beautification activities. It’s a great time to express civic pride and to foster a sense of collective responsibility and caring for the earth and its precious resources.
Tress are a constant, silent presence in our lives that is so easy to take for granted. Arbor Day reminds us how important trees are to the well-being of the earth.
With all of its parades and festivities, Arbor Day comes down to understanding the importance of planting trees today, that will provide shelter, shade, erosion control and clean air for decades to come.
We are celebrating Arbor Day at Hot Spring Spas of Music City during the whole month of April. We have teamed up with our supplier of hot tubs and portable spas and are offering special pricing on all our EarthSmart Spas. Hot Spring Spas is committed to building the most environmentally friendly spas, with a minimal environmental footprint.