Community Corner
Plant the Blooming Tree, It's Arbor Day!
137 years later, Arbor Day is still celebrated. But how did it start, and what does Evergreen Park have in store for tomorrow?
Burr Oak, Kentucky Coffee, Ginko and Elm wave to Winter with fond farewell. Ah...Arbor Day.
It's the one holiday, poets may feel less sentimental for writing about trees. And environmentalists may feel at ease for defending the necessity of our green giants for life on earth.
This year, the Village of Evergreen Park It'll begin with a dedication in front of at 9 a.m on Friday.
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Earlier this month, the Public Works Department planted a Burr Oak tree in front of Village Hall to symbolize their new-found dedication to a greener environment.
“This fits criteria for us,” said Gavin Yeaman, quality control director and certified arborist for the village, “in our pursuit to become a tree city.”
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It was a newspaper man, however, that brought the holiday into the American calendar.
According to Arborday.org, J. Sterling Morton, editor for a popular Nebraskan paper in the 1870s, wrote editorials on agriculture and trees, informing the public of their importance to society. To protect soil from wind erosion, Morton advised, farmers should use trees as wind breakers, a method still practiced today.
As readership increased so did Morton's popularity, until eventually, he was elected as secretary to the Nebraskan territory.
With his new-found responsibility, he proposed Arbor Day to the State Board of Agriculture, and on April 10, 1872, Nebraska celebrated en masse.
The holiday was the first of its kind in the U.S. Citizens, including young students, planted over 1 million trees that day.
Counties across Nebraska caught on, and soon after, Arbor Day went national. Now, it's celebrated on the last Friday of April, when the Spring season is in full swing.
Like Earth Day, the holiday is perfect for promoting environmental and ecological awareness.
The village recently received a government grant to protect some it its trees from the emerald ash borer, a deadly green beetle indigenous to Asia. As part of the Illinois Urban Forest Restoration program, Evergreen Park will spend about $9,000 of village funds. with over 10 different species of trees, including Redmond Lyndon, Bald Cyprus and Hedge Maple.
"This year [the celebration] is pretty small," Yeaman said. "Hopefully next year we can bring the kids out."
For more information on Arbor Day, call the Evergreen Park Village Hall at 708-422-1551 or look for events at Arborday.org.
