Trees play a big role in maintaining healthy life on earth, as they soak up carbon dioxide and in turn, produce oxygen.
This cycle balances our atmosphere and, even though there are a number of people such as a Sydney arborist who aim to keep this cycle healthy, our everyday actions can disturb this balance.
Arborists and the growing ‘green-conscious’ movement constantly attempts to minimise the damage caused by humans. However, they can never succeed in their actions by doing it alone. In line with this, many countries observe a holiday called “Arbor Day”, which aims to raise awareness around the importance of trees and the need to replace trees that are taken down in order to keep up a healthy cycle in our atmosphere. It is also a broad celebration of trees and the function they have in keeping our world healthy.
Planting trees is an easy and cost-efficient ways to ensure the ongoing health of our ecosystem by off-setting carbon emissions. Apart from releasing oxygen, trees also enrich the world’s soil, beautify urban and rural landscapes and provide shelter for many organisms.
Arbor Day is usually the culmination of an entire week (or month) dedicated to this cause and sees countries around the world hold events that highlight the benefits of planting and conserving trees. Events are held around the country highlighting the benefits of planting and conserving trees.
The Day originated in Nebraska, USA in 1872, when Julius Sterling Morton confronted the local agricultural board with the suggestion of involving the community in planting trees once each year. The first Arbor Day saw one million trees being planted.
Despite its origins in the USA, Arbor Day is also celebrated in various different countries. Some countries even dedicate a week to planting trees. There are various different dates for Arbor Day around the world. Here are some of them:
• Australia – last week of July
• Brazil – September 21
• Bulgaria – first week of April
• Canada – last Wednesday of September
• China – March 21
• Germany – April 25
• Namibia – second Friday in October
• Netherlands – March 22
• New Zealand – June 5
• South Africa – September 1-7
• United Kingdom – beginning of November
• USA – last Friday in April
Some ideas of what to do on Arbor Day include:
• Planting a tree
• Buying a tree or plants at a nursery
• Having a picnic in a park or in the botanical gardens
• Organise a neighbourhood tree planting or maintenance event
• Have a recycling event
• Have a fundraiser that uses the funds to buy and plant trees
• Green your office environment by adding trees to the space