Tomorrow is the 139th annual celebration of Arbor Day, started right here in Nebraska.
According to the official Arbor Day website, Arbor Day was started by Julius Sterling Morton who felt that Nebraska’s geography would benefit greatly from prolific tree-planting. From large orchards to natural wind breaks, he advocated wide-spread planting.
As a member of the Nebraska state board of agriculture, he proposed a special day be set aside to plant trees and raise awareness about the importance of trees to the local climate. More than 1 million trees were planted on the first Arbor Day in Nebraska and was considered a huge success. Arbor Day is now celebrated all across the country with millions of trees planted every year.
If you’re looking for a good way to spend your Arbor Day, then a visit to the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City should definitely be on your itinerary. The farm features an interactive educational center, hotel services at the Lied Lodge, acres of apple orchards to tour, and of course homemade apple cider, pie, turnovers and more! There is also a large gift shop and apple store. All profits help support the Arbor Day Foundation and its programs.
The most popular program the foundation runs is probably the Tree City USA program which has expanded to include the Tree Line USA and Tree Campus USA programs. In Nebraska more than 100 cities have earned the distinction of being a Tree City, meaning that the city has committed to planting, maintaining and growing trees and also has an official Arbor Day observance.
What are you doing for Arbor Day this year? Let us know in the comment section below.