How to Celebrate Arbor Day

In recent years Arbor Day's traditional spot on the calendar, April 22, has given way to Earth Day. But this day set aside for the planting of trees is just as important as it was when Nebraska journalist J. Sterling Morton thought it up more than 125 years ago.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Trees
• Shovels
• Tree-identification Books
• Famous & Historic Trees Catalogs
• Books On Planting And Caring For Trees
• Garden Hoses And Attachments

1. Find out when Arbor Day is in your state. It varies from state to state and sometimes from year to year, depending on the best tree-planting times in the region.

2. Plant a tree in your yard or on your balcony, terrace or roof deck. There are dozens of dwarf and miniature trees that thrive in containers, and they can do just as much to filter air pollutants, attract birds and beneficial insects, muffle noise and cast restful shade as their larger cousins.

3. Join in an Arbor Day tree-planting project in your area. You'll find them listed in local papers as the day approaches. Or check with your city arborist's office for planting times and other scheduled events.

4. Take a tree-identification walk. Sign on with one held by a local arboretum, community college or environmental group. Or put on your walking shoes; grab your binoculars, a notebook and a pocket-size guidebook; and step out the door.

5. Support your local arboretum. Volunteer to help on cleanup day, sign up for a training program and become a docent, or simply pop a check in the mail and become a member.

Tips & Warnings

• To find out the best trees for planting in your area and the best times to plant, contact your county extension service or city arborist's office. They can give you general suggestions and also direct you to nurseries and test gardens where you can see different varieties of trees at different stages of growth. The tree of your dreams may be a kind you never heard of before.
• If you want to plant a tree with a bit of history attached to it, contact Famous & Historic Trees (historictrees.org). They propagate cuttings taken from trees growing at historic places or planted by well-known people, past and present.

[vikki9]

on 4/24/2009 Celebrating Arbor Day is another way to step closer to Green - thank you for this article.

[joycetmann]

on 4/24/2009 I'm an avid tree planter. Great advice.

[joycetmann]

on 4/24/2009 I'm an avid tree planter. Great advice.