Arbor Day is a special day, celebrated around the world, dedicated to the importance of trees and their role in our environment. Arbor Day is celebrated by planting trees, holding tree-related events and activities, and raising awareness about the importance of trees. As Arbor Day approaches, Atlas Tree Service offers some background of the history, origins, and importance of Arbor Day, as well as ways you can be involved in the celebration of Arbor Day in San Diego.
The founder of Arbor Day is a newspaper editor named J. Sterling Morton. In 1855, after settling on 160 treeless acres in Nebraska, J. Sterling Morton started planting on his property. He planted an apple orchard, as well as peach, plum, and pear trees, plus cottonwoods, evergreens, beeches, and more. Realizing that the deforestation in Nebraska was an issue, he started enthusiastically spreading the word in speeches and in his newspaper, becoming an advocate for individuals and civic groups to plant trees. In January of 1872, Morton proposed a tree planting holiday to be called Arbor Day. Morton led the charge in the planting of approximately one million trees on the first Arbor Day on April 10, 1872. It was a wild success. J. Sterling Morton went on to become United States’ Secretary of Agriculture. In 1885, Arbor Day was named a legal state holiday in Nebraska, and April 22 was selected as the date for its permanent annual observance.
A thriving urban forest offers many advantages to communities. Trees help to clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, which is essential for us to breathe. They also provide shade, which can help to reduce energy costs up to 25% and improve the comfort of outdoor areas. Trees also help to prevent soil erosion by holding soil in place with their roots and can help to filter and clean water as it passes through the ground. Neighborhoods with trees are 7 to 9 degrees cooler than those without.
Here’s a list of some local San Diego organizations with opportunities to learn, volunteer and get involved:
Tree San Diego is a non profit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality, density, and sustainability of the region’s urban forests for the benefit of all communities and the environment. Tree San Diego organizes tree plantings, tree steward training events, composting workshops, and other tree related workshops and seminars.
Tree Watch San Diego is a neighborhood-based, citizen-science volunteer program to involve residents in identifying and protecting their local city trees and contributing to implementing the City’s Climate Action Plan. Tree Watch San Diego also educates residents about City of San Diego tree programs that are currently inactive, and to invite you to join the campaign to get them reactivated.
Lumbercycle is a non-profit group created by students at Palomar College’s woodworking program. Their mission is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by diverting as much woody biomass as possible from the landfill. Lumbercycle strives to bring this education to the San Diego community by building a living web between arborists, sawmills, schools, and woodworking groups. They do this through tree planting events, sawmill demonstrations, and collaboration with other educational organizations.
Kate Sessions Commitment is a group of San Diego based certified arborists, educators, specialists, and community leaders. The organization is named for Kate Sessions; a botanist, horticulturist and landscaper who lived from 1857 to 1940. Kate Sessions operated a nursery in City Park (now Balboa Park) in exchange for planting 100 trees annually in the park and providing 300 trees to the city for planting elsewhere in San Diego and is known as the Mother of Balboa Park. Her namesake organization is working hard to connect San Diego residents with the resources and support needed to get and grow trees, building communities around growing trees in every neighborhood.
In conclusion, Arbor Day is an important day to celebrate the many benefits of trees and to raise awareness about their importance in our environment. By planting trees and supporting efforts to protect and preserve them, we can all make a positive impact on the world around us.
“Each generation of humanity takes the earth as trustees… We ought to bequeath to posterity as many forests and orchards as we have exhausted and consumed.” J. Sterling Morton
