The official first day of spring has come and gone and with planting season just around the corner, Arbor Day is once again upon us! Nebraska City is known as the Home of Arbor Day, dating back to 1872 when Julius Sterling Morton presented to the State Board of Agriculture how important it was “to set aside one day to plant trees, both forest and fruit.”
J. Sterling Morton and his wife, Caroline, moved to the Nebraska Territory in 1854 where they spread their love of nature and trees with everyone. Back then the plains lacked trees, which were needed greatly for shade, windbreaks and many other necessities. The first Arbor Day as a holiday inspired the planting of over one million trees in Nebraska!
Arbor Day is now celebrated in all 50 states on the last Friday in April. This year the holiday falls on April 26th and Nebraska City will have many festivities all throughout the weekend. Check out the links for more information about Arbor Day.
Schedule of Events- http://gonebraskacity.com/festival/arbor-day/
Information credited to https://www.arborday.org/celebrate/documents/learn-more.pdf
Arbor Day website- https://www.arborday.org/celebrate/documents/learn-more.pdf