Arbor Day

For other uses, see Arbor Day (disambiguation).

Arbor Day
Volunteers planting a tree for Arbor Day.
Observed by	United States and other countries.
Type	Cultural
Significance	A holiday celebrating trees.
Date	Final Friday in April (US), various other days (other countries).
Celebrations	Planting and caring for trees, educating about the importance of trees.
Related to	Greenery Day (Japan)

Arbor Day (from the Latin arbor, meaning tree) is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. It originated in Nebraska City, Nebraska, United States during 1872 by J. Sterling Morton. The first Arbor Day was held on April 10, 1872, and an estimated 1 million trees were planted that day.

Many countries now observe a similar holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date varies, depending on climate and suitable planting season.

Birdsey Northrop of Connecticut was responsible for globalizing it when he visited Japan in 1883 and delivered his Arbor Day and Village Improvement message. In that same year, the American Forestry Association made Northrup the Chairman of the committee to campaign for Arbor Day nationwide. He also brought his enthusiasm for Arbor Day to Australia, Canada and Europe.^[1]

Arbor Day reached its height of popularity on its 125th anniversary in 1997, when David J. Wright, noticed that a Nebraska nonprofit organisation called the National Arbor Day Foundation had taken the name of the holiday and commercialized it for their own use as a trademark for their publication "Arbor Day," so he countered their efforts, launched a website, and trademarked it for "public use celebrations" and defended the matter in a federal district court in the United States^[2] to ensure it was judged as property of the public domain, the case was settled in October 1999. Today anyone can use the term "Arbor Day" as well as hold their own Arbor Day celebration.

Observances

Australia

July 28 is N Tree Planting Day for schools throughout Australia and 30 July is National Tree Planting Day for the rest of the Nation. Many states have Arbor Day although only Victoria has Arbor Week, which was suggested by Premier Dick Hamer in the 1980s. Arbor Day has been observed in Australia since 20 June 1889.

Belgium

International Day of Treeplanting is celebrated in Flanders on or around 21 March as a theme-day/educational-day/observance, not as public holidays. Tree planting is sometimes combined with awareness campaigns of the fight against cancer: Kom Op Tegen Kanker.

Brazil

The Arbor Day (Dia da Árvore) is celebrated on September 21. It's not a national holiday. However, schools nationwide celebrate this day with environment-related activities, namely tree planting.

Cambodia

National Tree Planting Day is on June 1.

Canada

In Canada, Maple Leaf Day falls on the last Wednesday in September during National Forest Week. Ontario celebrates Arbor Week from the last Friday in April to the first Sunday in May. Nova Scotia celebrates Arbour Day on the Thursday during National Forest Week, which is the first full week in May. Prince Edward Island celebrates Arbour Day on the 3rd Friday in May during Arbour Week.^[3]

Central African Republic

National Tree Planting Day is on July 22.

Greater China

Republic of China (Taiwan)

Arbor Day (植樹節) has been a traditional holiday in the Republic of China since 1927. In 1914, the founder of the agricultural college at Nanking University suggested to the now-defunct Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry that China should imitate the practice in the United States of Arbor Day. The holiday would be held the same day as the Qingming Festival. However, for unknown reasons, the suggestion was not made through the formal process, so nothing came from this original request. After the successful conclusion of the Northern Expedition, the now-defunct Ministry of Agriculture and Minerals formally petitioned the Executive Yuan to establish Arbor Day to commemorate the passing of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Father of Modern China. He had been a major advocate of afforestation in his life, because it would increase people's livelihoods. The Executive Yuan approved Arbor Day in the spirit of Dr. Sun that year and has since been celebrated on March 12 for this purpose.

People's Republic of China (Mainland China)

In 1981, the fourth session of the Fifth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China adopted the "Resolution on the unfolding of a nationwide voluntary tree-planting campaign". This resolution established Arbor Day (植树节) and stipulated that every able-bodied citizen between the ages of 11 and 60 should plant three to five trees per year or do the equivalent amount of work in seedling, cultivation, tree tending or other services. Supporting documentation instructs all units to report population statistics to the local afforestation committees as the basis for workload allocation. Moreover, those failing to do their duty are expected to make up planting requirements, provide funds equivalent to the value of labor required or pay heavy fines. Therefore, the tree-planting campaign is actually compulsory^{[citation needed]}, or at least obligatory (that is, an obligation to the community). The "voluntary" in the title referred to the fact that the tree-planters would "volunteer" their labor. The People's Republic of China celebrates Arbor Day on March 12, a day founded by Lin Daoyang, continue to use following the date of Arbor Day of Republic of China.

Costa Rica

"Día del Árbol" is on June 15.

Egypt

Tree planting day, arbor day, is on January 15.^{[citation needed]}

Germany

Arbor Day ("Tag des Baumes") is on April 25. First celebration was in 1952.

India

Van Mahotsav is an annual tree planting festival in vogue since 1950.

Global Green Mission, is organizing a mass movement to sapling of spiritual valuable species planting every day since 1993, conducted by Green Man Vijaypal Baghel.

Iran

National Tree Planting Day is on March 5.

Judaism

The Jewish holiday Tu Bishvat, the new year for trees, is on the 15th day of the month of Shvat, which usually falls in January or February. Originally based on the date used to calculate the age of fruit trees for tithing as mandated in Leviticus 19:23-25, the holiday now is most often observed by planting trees, or raising money to plant trees.^[4] Tu Bishvat is not an official holiday in Israel.

Japan

Japan celebrates a similarly themed Greenery Day, held on May 4.^[5] Although it has a similar theme to Arbor Day, its roots lay in celebration of the birthday of Emperor Hirohito.

Kenya

National Tree Planting Day is on April 21. Often people plant palm trees and coconut trees along the Indian Ocean that borders the East coast of Kenya.

Lesotho

National Tree Planting Day is on March 21.

Luxembourg

National Tree Planting Day is in November since 1991. It is organized by natur&ëmwelt.

Republic of Macedonia

Having in mind the bad condition of the forest fund, and in particular the catastrophic wildfires which occurred in the summer of 2007, a citizen's initiative for afforestation was started in the Republic of Macedonia. The campaign by the name 'Tree Day-Plant Your Future' was first organized on 12 March 2008, when an official non-working day was declared and more than 150,000 Macedonians planted 2 million trees in one day (symbolically, one for each citizen). Six million more were planted in November the same year, and another 12,5 million trees in 2009.

Malawi

National Tree Planting Day is on the 2nd Monday of December.

Mexico

National Tree Day is on the 2nd Thursday of July.

Namibia

Its first Arbor Day was celebrated on 2004-10-08.^[6]

Netherlands

Since conference and of the Food and Agriculture Organization's publication World Festival of Trees, and a resolution of the United Nations in 1954: "The Conference, recognising the need of arousing mass consciousness of the aesthetic, physical and economic value of trees, recommends a World Festival of Trees to be celebrated annually in each member country on a date suited to local conditions"; it has been adopted by the Netherlands. In 1957, the National Committee Day of Planting Trees/Foundation of National Festival of Trees (Nationale Boomplantdag/Nationale Boomfeestdag) was created.

On the third Wednesday in March each year (near the spring equinox), three quarters of Dutch schoolchildren aged 10/11 and Dutch celebrities plant trees. Stichting Nationale Boomfeestdag organizes all the activities in the Netherlands for this day. Some municipalities however plant the trees around 21 September because of the planting season.^[7]

In 2007, the 50th anniversary was celebrated with special golden jubilee-activities.

New Zealand

New Zealand's first Arbor Day planting was in Greytown in the Wairarapa on 3 July 1890. The first official celebration took place in Wellington in August 1892, with the planting of pohutukawa and Norfolk pines along Thorndon Esplanade.

Born in 1855, Dr Leonard Cockayne (generally recognised as the greatest botanist who has lived, worked, and died in New Zealand) worked extensively on native plants throughout New Zealand and wrote many notable botanical texts. Even as early as the 1920s he held a vision for school students of New Zealand to be involved in planting native trees and plants in their school grounds. This vision bore fruit and schools in New Zealand have long planted native trees on Arbor Day.

Since 1977, New Zealand has celebrated Arbor Day on June 5, which is also World Environment Day, prior to then Arbor Day, in New Zealand, was celebrated on August 4 - which is rather late in the year for tree planting in New Zealand hence the date change.

What the Department of Conservation (DOC) does for Arbor Day: Many of DOC's Arbor Day activities focus on ecological restoration projects using native plants to restore habitats that have been damaged or destroyed by humans or invasive pests and weeds. There are great restoration projects underway around New Zealand and many organisations including community groups, landowners, conservation organisations, iwi, volunteers, schools, local businesses, nurseries and councils are involved in them. These projects are part of a vision to protect and restore the indigenous biodiversity.

Niger

Since 1975, Niger has celebrated Arbor Day as part of its Independence Day: 3 August. On this day, aiding the fight against desertification, each Nigerian plants a tree.

Pakistan

National tree plantation day of Pakistan ( قومی شجر کاری دن ) is celebrated on 18 August.

18 August declared as NTPD

National tree plantation day 2009

National tree plantation day facebook page

Philippines

Arbor Day in the Philippines has been institutionalized to be observed every June 25 throughout the nation by planting trees and ornamental plants and other forms of relevant activities. The necessity to promote a healthier ecosystem for the people through the rehabilitation and regreening of the environment was stressed in Proclamation No. 643 that amended Proclamation No. 396 of June 2, 2003. Proclamation No. 396 enjoined the "active participation of all government agencies, including government-owned and controlled corporations, private sector, schools, civil society groups and the citizenry in tree planting activity and declaring June 25, 2003 as Philippines Arbor Day."

Poland

In Poland, Arbor Day is celebrated on October 10 .

Portugal

Arbor Day is celebrated on March 21. It's not a national holiday but instead schools nationwide celebrate this day with environment-related activities, namely tree planting.

South Africa

Arbor Day was celebrated from 1983 until 1999 in South Africa, when the national government extended it to National Arbor Week, which lasts from 1–7 September. Two trees, one common and one rare, are highlighted to increase public awareness of indigenous trees, while various "greening" activities are undertaken by schools, businesses and other organizations.

South Korea

Arbor Day (Sikmogil, 식목일) was a public holiday in South Korea on April 5 until 2005. The day is still celebrated, though. On non-leap years, the day coincides with Hansik.

Sri Lanka

National Tree Planting Day is on October 15.

Tanzania

National Tree Planting Day is on January 1.

Uganda

National Tree Planting Day is on March 24.

United States

Arbor Day community festival in Rochester, Minnesota.

Arbor Day was founded in 1872 by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska City, Nebraska. By the 1920s, each state in the United States had passed public laws that stipulated a certain day to be Arbor Day or Arbor and Bird Day observance.

The national holiday is celebrated every year on the last Friday in April; in Nebraska, it is a civic holiday. Each state celebrates its own state holiday. The customary observance is to plant a tree. On the first Arbor Day, April 10, 1872, an estimated one million trees were planted.^[8]

Venezuela

Venezuela recognizes "Día del Arbol" on the last Sunday of May.

See also

• Earth Day
• Greenery Day
• National Arbor Day Foundation
• National Public Lands Day
• Timeline of environmental events
• Tu Bishvat

In popular culture

• It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown, an animated special featuring the Peanuts characters, was produced in 1976.^[9]
• "April 25 - When You Plant a Tree (Arbor Song)" is a solo piano piece in honor of Arbor Day, composed by jazz pianist Mark Massey.
• Episode 61 ("Tween a Rock & an Ed Place") of the popular cartoon show Ed, Edd n Eddy, contains an obscure ritual to Arbor Day performed by Jonny.
• Our Gang, a.k.a. The Little Rascals, had an Arbor-Day themed short entitled, Arbor Day, in which the kids are putting on a special Arbor Day pageant, interrupted by two "kids" who are actually a pair of midgets.
• An episode of The Angry Beavers entitled "Gift Hoarse" focuses heavily on Arbor Day, so much so that the main characters Norbert and Daggett consider it to be Christmas Day for beavers.
• In the Viva La Bam episode "Tree Top Casino", Bam Margera attempts to put excitement into Arbor Day.
• Comic 1939 ("Raven Returns") of the web comic Questionable Content revealed that Hannelore's family's celebration of Arbor Day included stories of the Arbor Day Giraffe.
• On Arbor Day of 2011, the comedy-rap group Buckwheat Groats released their track entitled "Arbor Day Party"^[10]

References

1. ^ "Birdsey Grant Northrop", http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/forestry/urban_forestry/arborday.pdf, retrieved 2009-04-25 
2. ^ Frank Clifford (1997-04-13). "As Arbor Day Nears, A Dispute Takes Root between 2 Groups". Seattle Times. 
3. ^ "Arbor Day Around The World". The Arbor Day Foundation. 20 July 2010
4. ^ Judaism 101: Tu B'Shevat. Accessed August 20, 2007.
5. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenery_Day
6. ^ "Arbor Day Around The World". Arbor day foundation. http://www.arborday.org/arborday/arborDayDatesInternational.cfm. Retrieved 2008-09-06. 
7. ^ Boomfeestdag http://www.boomfeestdag.nl/ the organisations address is Spoorlaan 444 5038 CH TILBURG
8. ^ Arborday.org
9. ^ It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (1976) (TV). IMDb
10. ^ Arbor Day Party.

External links

• International Arbor Days
• History of Arbor Day
• Arbor Day Lesson Plans for the Classroom
• National Arbor Day Foundation
• State Arbor Days and state trees
• Arbor Day Leaves - A Complete Programme For Arbor Day Observance, Including Readings, Recitations, Music, and General Information at Project Gutenberg