What is Arbor Day?
Arbor Day focuses on the importance of trees and tree planting. Trees are crucial for our planet; they use photosynthesis to convert Carbon Dioxide into the Oxygen we breathe. They also support and provide habitats to many organisms. Arbor Day is celebrated to raise awareness of the benefits of trees for the environment, health, and communities.
What is the history behind Arbor Day?
The origins of Arbor Day date back to the early 1870s in Nebraska City. A journalist named Julius Sterling Morton was enthusiastic about trees and strongly advocated for individuals and groups who planted them. Using the state’s first newspaper, the Nebraska City News, he spread his knowledge of trees and their importance. Many readers resonated with his words, and many of them recognized the lack of forestation in their community. Morton also became involved in Nebraska’s Board of Agriculture, and on January 4th, 1872, he proposed a tree-planting holiday called Arbor Day.
How did it get started?
The first Arbor Day was held on April 10, 1872. Prizes were given to people who properly planted the most trees. It was estimated that 1 million trees were planted that day, and the celebration was a wild success. The tradition quickly began to spread. In 1882, schools nationwide started to participate, and in 1885, it became an official state holiday in Nebraska.
Today, all 50 states celebrate Arbor Day. National Arbor Day is on the last Friday of April, but many states observe Arbor Day on different dates throughout the year based on the best regional tree-planting seasons.
Best Arbor Day Activities To Do
You can do many different activities to celebrate Arbor Day! Consider planting a tree, volunteering to clean up your local forest or park, doing arts and crafts related to trees, or simply learning about trees.
How Do You Plant a Tree?
To plant a tree, dig a hole about 3 to 4 times larger than the container the sapling comes in. Next, remove the tree from the container and loosen its roots. Now, center the tree in the hole. Firmly fill and pack the hole until the soil is at ground level. Finally, add mulch and water the tree.
Happy Arbor Day!
Written by Chloe Dai, Teen Volunteer for the Monroe Science Center
Arbor Day Story Time Sneak Peek
On Arbor Day, we will read The Tree Lady, which is about horticulturist Kate Sessions. Known for being the “Mother of Balboa Park,” she transformed San Diego, California, by introducing many trees to the region, including cypress, pine, oak, eucalyptus, and pepper trees, many of which can still be seen in Balboa Park today.
Although San Diego’s parks, streets, and gardens are now lush with many trees, shrubs, and succulents from all over the world, in 1884, when Kate Sessions moved there, much of San Diego remained starkly bare. Land was basically. City Park, which is now known as Balboa Park, didn’t look like much of a park. It was where people grazed cattle and dumped garbage. Many people didn’t think trees could grow in a desert climate, but Kate thought San Diego needed plants and trees more than anything else.
In 1892, Kate petitioned the City Council of San Diego to allow her to start a plant nursery in City Park. In exchange, Kate would plant 100 trees per year in the park and provide the City with 300 shade trees to be used in parks, streets, or school grounds annually.
Kate Sessions continued gardening, planting trees, and educating people until her death in 1940. She brought several rare and endangered species to the area that survived, such as rare palms from Baja California. By the early 1900s, one in four trees growing in San Diego came from Kate’s nursery.
Written by Kayla Velasquez, Monroe Science Center Staff