Is your club planning an Arbor Day event to plant trees in a community park, at a school, or perhaps donating trees to new Habitat for Humanity homes? Arbor Day is a special day each year for cities and organizations to plant trees. Your club can also partner with a girl scout troop, 4-H group or school to plant trees with the children’s help. Involving our youth in protecting our environment and gaining an appreciation for nature is an important part of a garden club’s purpose. You can also donate funds for trees to be planted in a city park.
The tradition of planting trees on Arbor Day began in 1872, in Nebraska, when Julius Sterling Morton, vice-president of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture, proposed that a day be set aside in Nebraska for planting trees. The Nebraska Board approved his proposal, and newspapers began promoting the event.
That first Arbor Day was held on April 10, 1872, and it is said that over one million trees were planted in Nebraska on that day. The idea of having a special day to plant trees quickly caught on with other states; and within twenty years, all states were celebrating Arbor Day on the last Friday in April.
In 1907, at an Arbor Day celebration, Pres. Theodore Roosevelt stated that a people without children would face a hopeless future, and a country without trees would be almost as hopeless. Ten to fifteen years from now, young trees planted by your club this Arbor Day will provide abundant shade, wildlife habit and beauty to your city.
By Karen Bowen, Blog Manager
Scottsdale Garden Club’s tree planting.
Moody Garden Club’s tree planting.
Students from Kofa High School and Palmcroft Elementary School in Yuma help plant a ficus tree in a city park on Arbor Day.
