2008 Woodie Awards
Arbor Day a Nebraska original
Michael Mason-D'Croz
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Features
Planting trees early in spring,
we make a place for birds to sing
in time to come. How do we know?
They are singing here now.
There is no other guarantee
that singing will ever be.
- Wendell Berry "For The Future"
Lincoln, Neb., is Tree City U.S.A. That's right, the city of Lincoln, alongside more than 3,200 other cities around the country, has been labeled "Tree City U.S.A." by the Arbor Day Foundation.
Arbor Day, a celebration of trees, is a national holiday celebrated on the last Friday of every April.
While it may be unbelievable, in the 1800s the state of Nebraska was a treeless prairie.
J. Sterling Morton - a Detroit native - moved to Nebraska in 1854 and planted trees and shrubs on his property. He stressed that trees helped with shade from the hot Nebraska sun, windbreaks to keep soil in place and as necessary building materials.
However, the holiday wasn't truly put into place until Morton suggested a "tree planting holiday" that would be called "Arbor Day." The State Board of Agriculture accepted this idea and set the date of April 10, 1872, as the first Arbor Day. As an incentive, the state offered prizes to the counties and individuals who properly planted the most trees on that day.
It is estimated that more than 1 million trees were planted in the state of Nebraska on that one day alone.
Since then, the holiday has blossomed into a full fledged international celebration.
"(Arbor Day) is celebrated in all 50 states and in many countries around the world," said Mark Derowitsch, public relations manager for the Arbor Day Foundation.
Those many countries include Australia (June), Brazil (September 21), China (March 12), Germany (April 25), Mexico (July) and Spain (March 26).
But the current form of the holiday as Nebraskans know it came to be in 1972 when Nebraska Governor Jim Exon set up a committee for the 100th anniversary of the holiday.
That committee morphed into what is now known as the Arbor Day Foundation - its headquarters located in Lincoln.
"Our mission will never end," Derowitsch said. "We want to inspire people to plant and celebrate trees. We celebrate greatly from trees. They clean the air, clean the water, protect wildlife. We'll continue to plant trees because it's good for the environment."
The Arbor Day Foundation furthers this mission through the Arbor Day Farm - located in Nebraska City. The farm is situated on 260 acres of land that includes attractions and information about trees and tree planting.
However, it is of great importance to spread the message to the next generation - college students.
Ben Cohoon was a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln when he worked as an intern for the Arbor Day Foundation. After graduating they offered him a full time position.
He said that presence at UNL's Earth Day celebration and a Facebook group he created for Arbor Day have been a couple ways the foundation has tried to get students involved.
Another way for students around campus to get involved is through the ReTree Nebraska program set up by the Nebraska Forestry Service.
There has been a significant decline in community trees around the state, and the forestry service hopes to help recoup some of these trees and build community tree canopy through the program.
"The goal is to plant 1 million good quality trees, but improve the canopy cover in communities," said Justin Evertson, assistant director Community Programs with the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum.
"We want to get Nebraskans more enthused about trees, and improve that shade cover."
This program officially kicked off on Arbor Day last year and will last until at least 2016. The hope is that while 2016 won't be the end date of the program, by that time the goal of 1 million trees planted will have been reached.
This program is completely separate from the Arbor Day Foundation, although ReTree Nebraska has gotten support from some Arbor Day Foundation employees. Both hope to further education, care and protection of trees.
"The importance of the day is a chance to plant trees," Derowitsch said. "To give something back to the generations that will follow. You plant trees today so that generations in future benefit from our acts."
michaelmason-dcroz@dailynebraskan.com
we make a place for birds to sing
in time to come. How do we know?
They are singing here now.
There is no other guarantee
that singing will ever be.
- Wendell Berry "For The Future"
Lincoln, Neb., is Tree City U.S.A. That's right, the city of Lincoln, alongside more than 3,200 other cities around the country, has been labeled "Tree City U.S.A." by the Arbor Day Foundation.
Arbor Day, a celebration of trees, is a national holiday celebrated on the last Friday of every April.
While it may be unbelievable, in the 1800s the state of Nebraska was a treeless prairie.
J. Sterling Morton - a Detroit native - moved to Nebraska in 1854 and planted trees and shrubs on his property. He stressed that trees helped with shade from the hot Nebraska sun, windbreaks to keep soil in place and as necessary building materials.
However, the holiday wasn't truly put into place until Morton suggested a "tree planting holiday" that would be called "Arbor Day." The State Board of Agriculture accepted this idea and set the date of April 10, 1872, as the first Arbor Day. As an incentive, the state offered prizes to the counties and individuals who properly planted the most trees on that day.
It is estimated that more than 1 million trees were planted in the state of Nebraska on that one day alone.
Since then, the holiday has blossomed into a full fledged international celebration.
"(Arbor Day) is celebrated in all 50 states and in many countries around the world," said Mark Derowitsch, public relations manager for the Arbor Day Foundation.
Those many countries include Australia (June), Brazil (September 21), China (March 12), Germany (April 25), Mexico (July) and Spain (March 26).
But the current form of the holiday as Nebraskans know it came to be in 1972 when Nebraska Governor Jim Exon set up a committee for the 100th anniversary of the holiday.
That committee morphed into what is now known as the Arbor Day Foundation - its headquarters located in Lincoln.
"Our mission will never end," Derowitsch said. "We want to inspire people to plant and celebrate trees. We celebrate greatly from trees. They clean the air, clean the water, protect wildlife. We'll continue to plant trees because it's good for the environment."
The Arbor Day Foundation furthers this mission through the Arbor Day Farm - located in Nebraska City. The farm is situated on 260 acres of land that includes attractions and information about trees and tree planting.
However, it is of great importance to spread the message to the next generation - college students.
Ben Cohoon was a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln when he worked as an intern for the Arbor Day Foundation. After graduating they offered him a full time position.
He said that presence at UNL's Earth Day celebration and a Facebook group he created for Arbor Day have been a couple ways the foundation has tried to get students involved.
Another way for students around campus to get involved is through the ReTree Nebraska program set up by the Nebraska Forestry Service.
There has been a significant decline in community trees around the state, and the forestry service hopes to help recoup some of these trees and build community tree canopy through the program.
"The goal is to plant 1 million good quality trees, but improve the canopy cover in communities," said Justin Evertson, assistant director Community Programs with the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum.
"We want to get Nebraskans more enthused about trees, and improve that shade cover."
This program officially kicked off on Arbor Day last year and will last until at least 2016. The hope is that while 2016 won't be the end date of the program, by that time the goal of 1 million trees planted will have been reached.
This program is completely separate from the Arbor Day Foundation, although ReTree Nebraska has gotten support from some Arbor Day Foundation employees. Both hope to further education, care and protection of trees.
"The importance of the day is a chance to plant trees," Derowitsch said. "To give something back to the generations that will follow. You plant trees today so that generations in future benefit from our acts."
michaelmason-dcroz@dailynebraskan.com
Be the first to comment on this story