Celebrating Arbor Day

Arbor Day is celebrated in April, which means it’s time to reflect on why we plant trees, and why trees are important to us. Arbor Day is a holiday dedicated to planting and caring for trees, and while much of our reasons for planting trees may have changed over the years, we still celebrate the holiday the same way, by planting and caring for our trees.

Arbor Day was first celebrated in 1872 in Nebraska, largely due to the efforts of Julius Sterling Morton. At the time, Nebraska’s landscape was more open grassland with few trees. Settlers new to the area found they needed trees for windbreaks, fuel, building materials, and soil stabilization. Morton proposed a day specifically for tree planting, and on April 10, 1872, an estimated one million trees were planted across the state. The idea quickly gained traction and spread to other regions. It helped that J. Sterling Morton was also a newspaper editor, and used this to promote his idea widely.

By the 1880s, Arbor Day was being observed in schools and communities across the United States, often with educational programs about conservation and stewardship. Arbor Day became an official legal holiday in Nebraska in 1885, and Morton’s birthday (April 22) was chosen as the date. Since then, the holiday spread internationally, and many countries now celebrate their own versions of the holiday. The spirit of the holiday has shifted as well, from more industry motivated to a closer focus on environmental benefits of planting trees.

Today, the Arbor Day Foundation is as active as ever, helping to plant millions of trees around the world each year. They claim to have helped plant over half a billion trees in their history. You can help the mission with free trees from the Arbor Day Foundation for filling out a survey on their website at arborday.org. In the U.S., National Arbor Day is typically celebrated on the last Friday in April, but individual states may observe it on different dates to align with local climate conditions. Wisconsin does follow the national holiday of celebrating the last Friday in April. Our state government got into the spirit with pledge to plant 75 million trees in Wisconsin in 2021. By 2024, the goal was already halfway met, so the Governor increased the pledge to 100 million trees planted in WI by 2030.

As arborists, we appreciate Arbor Day for helping to spread the word and facilitate more trees being planted each year. We encourage everyone to plant more trees, and would love to help by planting a tree in your yard. Tree Health Management often celebrates Arbor Day with tree planting volunteer events, and you may have heard one of our ISA Certified Arborists on your local WPR station. If you are interested in planting a tree, or just want guidance on how to take the project on yourself, contact Tree Health Management today.