Happy Arbor Day! Today we are thankful for the trees. Not only are they habitat for many birds and other creatures, they also produce clean air to breath, provide us shade from the sun, and create a cozy spot to steal away quiet time on our hammocks!
Julius Sterling Morton (1832-1902), a Nebraska newspaper editor, who served as President Grover Cleveland’s Secretary of Agriculture, held the first celebration of Arbor Day in 1872. Stemming from his love of nature and especially trees, he felt it was important to promote the planting of the majestic plants as a large scale nationally recognized holiday. On April 25, he organized his community to participate in a planting that resulted in more than one million trees planted across Nebraska. Today, the holiday has grown into a widely-anticipated day of community service celebrated across the country.
It’s clear that without trees we would be in a lot of trouble across the planet, and many countries are already dealing with the consequences of deforestation and development.
Trees control noise pollution, provide shade to conserve energy, and prevent soil erosion. Trees are also esthetically pleasing and when used in landscaping help to increase property values. Apples, pears, lemons, oranges, grapefruits, peaches, mangoes and plums all come from trees!
The Arbor Day Foundation, a national member of EarthShare, has put together some statistics of why trees are so important:
“The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.” —U.S. Department of Agriculture
“Landscaping, especially with trees, can increase property values as much as 20 percent.” —Management Information Services/ICMA
“Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30 percent and can save 20–50 percent in energy used for heating.” —USDA Forest Service
“The planting of trees means improved water quality, resulting in less runoff and erosion. This allows more recharging of the ground water supply. Wooded areas help prevent the transport of sediment and chemicals into streams.” —USDA Forest Service
For more information on trees and how you can get digging and plant your own, visit www.arborday.org.
You can also learn about how you can help your local New Jersey community with native tree plantings by contacting the NJ Tree Foundation, NJ Shade Tree Federation, Pinelands Preservation Alliance, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, or others in the EarthShare New Jersey network.