Have You Hugged A Tree Today?

Today is Arbor Day, which I didn’t realize until yesterday. I didn’t really know much about Arbor Day other then that it’s about planting trees, so I hoped onto google to find out a little more, just in case you were curios too.

The first Arbor Day was celebrated in April 1872 in Nebraska. Julius Sterling Morton founded it because he felt that there should be a day dedicated to planting trees and increasing the awareness of their importance. That first Arbor Day was celebrated only in Nebraska where 1 million trees were planted.

Slowly other states started adopting it and in 1970 President Nixon made it a national holiday and set the last Friday in April as the day it would be celebrated. Arbor Day is now celebrated in at least 30 other countries as well.

So if you can, take a few minutes to check out the trees around your house. Do they look healthy? Do the branches need pruning? Do you know how to tell if they’re healthy or need pruning? If not check out the Arbor Day Foundation. You can also buy trees from them and they have this great reference called Right Tree, Right Place. It helps you pick the right tree for you climate and for the space you have.



If you don’t have anywhere to plant a tree check out Moku gift. For $1 you can plant a tree in Central America, Asia or Africa and you can even pick the village that your tree will go to.

You could even stop by care2 and sign a petition to protect the Tongass National forest in Alaska. It will only take a minute and doesn’t cost a penny.

You know what else doesn’t cost anything? Going for a walk and enjoy the trees around you. Trees are amazing; they make you feel calm just looking at them, they shade you when it’s hot, keep you dry when it’s raining and clean the air that we breathe.

So go on, hug a tree and say thanks.