What Is Arbor Day?
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One of my earliest memories of Arbor Day was when I was in elementary school. We would all leave our classrooms and gather outside around a tree that was about to be planted. There we would find a hole that a couple of the custodians from the school had already dug and we would slide the tree into the ground.
The principle would say a few quickly forgotten words and we would all traipse back inside to finish our studies for the day. For the teachers it was a hassle to corral all of us into groups and watch the festivities, but to the kids, it was a chance to go outside for a couple of minutes and blow off a little steam. Any chance to leave the classroom was a good thing when you're in grade school, especially if you were able to go outside.
According to Wikipedia, the first documented Arbor Day was held in Spain in 1594 and the first American Arbor Day was held in Nebraska City, Nebraska on April 10, 1872 where J. Sterling Morton was instrumental in establishing.
On the first Arbor Day, an estimated one million trees were planted in Nebraska. Mr. Morton had a great love of trees and he seemed to pass this down to his son, Joy. Joy Morton was the founder of the Morton Salt Company. Joy created the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL in 1922, which has grown to encompass 1,700 acres and has been described as a living history museum with over 4,000 different types of trees, shrubs and other woody plants.
Arbor Day is celebrated around the world and over 40 countries have established days to recognize the importance of planting trees and protecting the environment. In the US, the Arbor Day Foundation, founded in 1972 on the centennial of the first Arbor Day, has grown to be one of the largest nonprofit organizations dedicated to planting trees. Spring-Green has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation for several years and have funded the planting of thousands of trees in the US.
This Arbor Day on April 29. Take the time to plant a tree this year. Being called a tree hugger has gotten a lot of bad publicity over the years, but trees are important to our well-being, so it is okay to hug a tree. It has done a lot of good for you.