Arbor Day
For the most part, American
holidays celebrate a historical figure, an important event in American
development, or a religious holiday.
However, every last Friday in April, America celebrates a national
holiday dedicated to an under appreciated part of life and a major reason why
we are able to live: trees. Arbor Day
may not have the same pizzazz as Easter, Christmas, Halloween, or even
Groundhog’s Day, but it is an important holiday that has nothing but good
intentions surrounding it.
Arbor day is a day that encourages tree planting and care. Considering how little most people think
about the importance of trees in their everyday life, Arbor Day is a great
opportunity to remind ourselves of the value of trees. From an economic point of view, trees around
the home can boost its market value up to fifteen percent. Additionally, properly placed trees around a
home can reduce air condition needs up to thirty percent and can improve a home’s
water quality resulting in less runoff and erosion. The most crucial role of a tree in human society can be summed up
in this fact relayed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture: ”One acre of forest
absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of
18 people.”
The roots of Arbor Day can
be traced back to the beautiful state of Nebraska. When one looks around Nebraska today, they can’t possibly imagine
that the state was actually a treeless plain in the 1800s. However, Nebraska was like this and this
spurred the actions of J. Sterling Morton, a Detroit journalist that moved to
Nebraska in 1854. Surveying the
landscape and realizing that the lack of trees was causing problems for
Nebraskan farmers, Morton (who would later become secretary of the Nebraska
Treasury) proposed a tree-planting holiday on January 4, 1872. This holiday that would be called Arbor Day
became a huge hit in Nebraska and its popularity spread throughout the country,
as other states employed this holiday in the 1870s.
Now a national holiday,
Arbor Day is typically observed on the last Friday in April. However, considering the nature of the
holiday and the different climates in the different regions of the country,
many states observe Arbor Day at a time that coincides with the best tree
planting weather. Often, the southern
states observe Arbor Day sometime in January and February. For far northern states, Arbor Day is
typically celebrated in May.
Although this holiday
originated in America, Arbor Day or variations of it are celebrated in countries
throughout the world. A day where a
person is able to take stock in the importance of trees and do some tree
planting, Arbor Day is a fun holiday.
Many towns and cities throughout the country celebrate Arbor Day to the
fullest, as they attempt to gain the distinction as being Tree City USA. For homeowners, Arbor Day offers the
opportunity to assess the state of the trees located on your property. By properly planning for the future,
inspecting the state of the trees located on your property, and planting more
trees on your property, you will have the opportunity to increase the market
value of your home. For parents, Arbor
Day is a great time to teach your children about the importance of trees, in
particular, and the natural environment, in general. For kids, Arbor Day is a time where you get to learn about
something extremely important and wondrous: nature. Happy Arbor Day, everyone, and plant some trees!
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