How to Celebrate Arbor Day - Go Plant A Tree!
Posted: Saturday, April 09, 2011
by Jean Horst
I love Arbor Day. It's odd for me to say that since I'm pretty sure I've never participated in an actual Arbor Day event in my life, so maybe I should say I love the CONCEPT of Arbor Day. The thought that on one day a year, we should all set aside some time to go out and plant as many trees as possible in as many places as possible! What's not to love about that?
The Arbor Day Foundation also suggests many ways to celebrate Arbor Day in non-traditional manners, such as;
- Have a paper drive and recycle paper (saves trees)
- Take a tree identification hike
- Adopt-a-tree by caring for street trees in your neighborhood
- Organize a beautification project in a public area
- Attend a class on tree and plant care
- Read a book about trees to your children
- Give gift trees through the Arbor Foundation
If you or an organization you are associated with would like to sponsor a tree planting event, ArborDay.org has a wealth of information on how to get started and gives you the knowledge and tools needed to pull it off. They have programs for schools, colleges, communities and businesses.
The Arbor Day Foundation is active all year around to promote awareness and encourage tree planting. I got involved with the Arbor Day foundation personally after I realized they combined two of my loves: plants and bargains. I am a bargain shopper and I am amateur gardener. I don't really think I'm all that good at the gardening but I dearly love to stick my fingers in the dirt and plant a living thing. Several years ago, it came to my attention that the Arbor Day foundation would send me 10 trees for my $15.00 membership fee. Really?? That is an unbelievable bargain and I was hooked!
When my 10 tiny little sticks arrived in the mail wrapped only in a plastic sleeve with gel on their miniscule roots, I wondered what the heck I'd gotten into and felt a panic a bit like I'd been sent 10 preemies. Nonetheless, I dutifully followed the instructions to pot the tiny dogwoods and crepe myrtles to let them grow stronger before I put them out into the hard, cruel world and waited to see what would happen. My friends laughed at me and said I had been suckered by a "deal". Much to their surprise, all of my original ten babies survived and began to thrive. That's when I realized I was going to have a problem. I didn't have space for 10 more trees on my suburban lot. The same friends who snickered at me were more than happy to take the extras off my hands. Now a year later, I've planted 5, gaven away 4, and still have one little straggler in a pot while it gains more "weight". I'm quite pleased with my success. I'd do it again but I need to figure out what to do with them first. Hmmm, maybe the neighbors might want some or maybe the local elementary school wants some trees to grow...
At any rate, if you've never ventured into the tree-planting world, now's the perfect time to jump in. There's much, much more for teachers, parents, scout organizations, neighborhoods, and businesses at ArborDay.org, along with tree guides, planting instructions and more information on how you can join the Arbor Day Foundation. (It's a bargain!) Arbor Day is celebrated in numerous countries around the globe, find out when it comes to you. Go plant a tree!
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Top-level comments on this article: (10 total)I never heard of Arbor Day Jean, how long has it been going on?Hi David,
The first Arbor Day was April 10, 1872 in the Nebraska. Many other states followed suit in the 1870's & 1880's. Officially, the Arbor Day Foundation says it's been over 135 years. Even though the national day is the last Friday of April, some states use an earlier or later date to correspond with the optimum planting season in their area. I know that where I am, February is a better planting time then April since we start getting pretty hot weather in May.
I also love the concept of Arbor day, but have never done a thing about it :( Well, you've inspired me, Jean, and since ours is in September, I think I'm going to buy a tree on 29th April and plant it anyway in my landlady's garden. She won't notice!You make me laugh, Jennifer! Go for it. She won't notice and you will have the benefit of a lovely tree.
Nice way to spread the word! This is big in Oregon. All the local schools participated. It was also so encouraging on our drives to the coast where we could see big sections of huge trees downed and lots of little sprouts in their place. Thanks for the reminder and sharing this information. Blessings! TThanks T!
Plants and bargains are two of my loves as well. It sounds like you got a great deal, plus you did a good thing by planting the trees! We have nine gigantic old Maples in our backyard or I'd run out and plant another after reading this. :)I love Maples!
This is good quality article. It is my pleasure to read it. Thank you for writing!Thank you, Karin.
I'd like for my landlord to agree to the planting of a single tree on my spacious lot, even in the backyard! My kids are sure to have a related school project, and will soon be bugging us to buy some potted trees or something from the nearby tree farm.If your landlord is smart, he'll know that planting trees adds significantly to curb appeal with adds to resale value!
Interesting! Thanks Jean, for the ideas. I would love to do so.Please do!
Thanks for writing such an inspirational article Jean, I would love to plant one soon.Every one counts!
I actually have a website somewhere out there whose aim is to plant a million trees, when I rediscover the url for that website I will do something about republishing the specific tree planting content for people to think about helping...thanks guysThat's great, Ian! I wish you great success with your site.
Thanks for encouraging this planting of trees. In a world where man has uprooted or cut down so many trees, this is the real cause of global warming. It is the trees that bring the rain. Without trees, the necessary mix of carbon monoxide and oxygen gets thrown out of wack and cannot produce the H2O effect.But this fact seems to have eluded or purposefully been ignored by today's global warming champions. Instead, they concentrate on the money making aspect of things. God bless you.Thanks, Jesus.
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