Arbor Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Arbor Day | |
 Trees are the main focus of 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 is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. Arbor Day originated in Nebraska City, Nebraska, United States but is also celebrated by several other countries. In Japan, a similarly-themed Greenery Day is celebrated.
[edit] History
Arbor Day was established by J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska City, Nebraska in 1872.
J. Sterling Morton, father of Arbor Day, was born in Adams, N.Y.
J. Sterling Morton and his wife moved from Detroit, Michigan to the Nebraska Territory in 1854, where he was the editor of Nebraska's first newspaper. His influence as a journalist led to his involvement in politics, and he became a promoter of the settlement of Nebraska. The lack of trees, however, was an obstacle.
The Great Plains had been described as the "Great American Desert." The tallgrass prairie that covered much of Nebraska at that time could provide rich farmland, but without wood for building houses or for fuel to heat homes, few found it convenient to settle there. Even the allotment of free land by the Homestead Act failed to entice sufficient numbers of families to relocate to Nebraska.[citation needed]
Morton first proposed Arbor Day as a tree planting holiday in 1872 at a meeting of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture. On the first Arbor Day, April 10 1874, prizes were offered to counties and to individuals for properly planting the largest number of trees. It was claimed that more than 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska on that day.
April 22, Morton's birthday, was selected as the date for its permanent observance.
During the course of the 1870s, several other states passed legislation to observe Arbor Day. Schools began to adopt the tradition beginning in 1882. By 1894, Arbor Day was celebrated in each state of the United States.
Morton's home in Nebraska City, Arbor Lodge, is a state historical park, which includes an arboretum and extensive landscaped grounds. Adjacent to the public park, Morton's farm, now called Arbor Day Farm, is run by the National Arbor Day Foundation.
[edit] Observances
[edit] Algeria
The national tree planting day (Jour de l'arbre) of Algeria is on October 25.
[edit] Australia
July 28 is National 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 the late Premier Dick Hamer in the 80s. Arbor Day has been observed in Australia since 20 June 1889.
[edit] 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.
[edit] China
China celebrates Arbor Day or Tree Planting Day as a public holiday on March 12. It commemorates the passing of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Father of the Nation, in 1925.
[edit] Cambodia
National Tree Planting Day is on June 1.
[edit] Central African Republic
National Tree Planting Day is on July 22.
[edit] Egypt
Tree planting day, arbor day, is on January 15.
[edit] Germany
Arbor Day is on April 25. First celebration was in 1952.
[edit] Iran
National Tree Planting Day is on March 5.
[edit] Israel
Israel celebrates Tu Bishvat, the new year for trees, on the fifteenth day of the month of Shevat, 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.[1]
[edit] Japan
Japan celebrates a similarly themed Greenery Day, held on April 29th. Although it has a similar theme to Arbor Day, its roots lay in celebration of the birthday of Emperor Hirohito.
[edit] Kenya
National Tree Planting Day is on April 21. Often people plant palm trees and coconut trees along the Pacific Coast that boarders the East coast of Kenya.
[edit] Lesotho
National Tree Planting Day is on March 21.
[edit] Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia celebrated Tree Day on March 12, 2008. It was declared an official non-working day, and over 2 million trees were planted. The holiday was declared in honor of reforestation following the devastating Macedonian wildfires of Summer 2007.
[edit] Malawi
National Tree Planting Day is on the 2nd Monday of December.
[edit] Namibia
National Tree Planting Day is on September 7.
[edit] 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 or around 21 March (the first day of Spring) or sometimes on or around 21 September (the first day of Autumn), threequarters of city school-children and others plant trees.
In 2007 the 50th anniversary will be celebrated with special golden jubilee-activities.
[edit] 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 and create healthy habitats where native animals can live.
[edit] People's Republic of China
Arbor Day (植樹節) is on March 12 to commemorate the passing of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Chinese revolutionary, in 1925. In 1981, the fourth session of the Fifth National People's Congress adopted the "Resolution on the unfolding of a nationwide voluntary tree-planting campaign". This resolution 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 labour required or pay heavy fines. Therefore, the tree-planting campaign is actually compulsory, 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 labour.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Sri Lanka
National Tree Planting Day is on October 15.
[edit] Tanzania
National Tree Planting Day is on January 1.
[edit] Taiwan
Arbor Day (植樹節) was once a public holiday in the Republic of China (Taiwan) on March 12. It commemorated the passing of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Father of the Republic of China, in 1925.
[edit] Uganda
National Tree Planting Day is on March 24.
[edit] United States
The national holiday is celebrated every year on the last Friday in April; it is a civic holiday in Nebraska. Each state celebrates its own state holiday. The customary observance is to plant a tree. On the first Arbor Day 1 million trees were planted.[citation needed]
[edit] Venezuela
Venezuela recognizes "Día del Arbol" on the last Sunday of May.
[edit] See also
[edit] Arbor Day in popular culture
- The U.S. Acres episode Fortune Kooky takes place on Arbor Day.
[edit] References
- ^ Judaism 101: Tu B'Shevat. Accessed August 20, 2007.
