Arbor Day, celebrated on April 26, is a national holiday where groups and individuals are encouraged to plant trees. Similar to Earth Day, Arbor Day is an environmental holiday that hopes to encourage the community to be more involved in conservation.

It is celebrated around the world, but the first American Arbor Day occurred in 1872.

On April 10, 1872, J. Sterling Morton organized the first ever Arbor Day in Nebraska City, Nebraska. It was such a hit that it was estimated that over 1 million trees were planted that day in the state. From there, the idea spread throughout the entire US and eventually went international.

Birdsey Northrop brought the spirit of Arbor Day to Japan in 1883 when he gave ideas and speeches on conservation. He also influenced Australia, Canada, and many European countries to celebrate the holiday in their communities.

Even though Arbor Day was helping conservation matters all over the country, conservationist Major Israel McCreight thought that President Roosevelt’s speeches on the matters of the environment were all targeted towards businessmen and adults.

To help spread the message even further, McCreight suggested that the Arbor Day campaign be spread to school children.

This caused Roosevelt to issue “Arbor Day Proclamation to the School Children of the United States” on April 15, 1907. This proclamation stressed the importance of trees and the idea that forestry should be taught in schools.

After this, the influence of Arbor Day was not only in adults, but also in young children.

This Arbor Day, millions of trees will be planted in hopes of conserving one of nature’s greatest gifts. Overall, Arbor Day is a great national holiday to get outdoors and do something good for the community and the environment.

To celebrate Arbor day, go outside and get involved by planting some trees.