National Arbor Day celebrates the importance of trees

Have you ever imagined a world without trees?  Trees are a vital part of the earth’s ecosystem.  Trees offer protection for farmland, provide shade for homes and streets, and trees also help fight the greenhouse effect.  There is a national recognition day that celebrates the importance of trees to the environment. National Arbor Day is celebrated each year on the last Friday in April.

Julius Sterling Morton (1832 – 1902) founded Arbor Day.  Morton was born in Adams, New York and he graduated from the University of Michigan in 1854.  Later, Morton and his wife Caroline Joy French moved to Nebraska. 
Morton served as acting governor of Nebraska from December 5, 1858 to May 2, 1859. President Grover Cleveland appointed Morton as the 3rd U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, a position he served in from 1893 to 1897.  In addition to being an agriculturalist, Morton was a journalist.  He was the editor of the Nebraska City News – Nebraska’s first newspaper.  Morton was a conservative Democrat noted for his pro-slavery editorials.  Morton was also inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame.  He once said: “Other holidays repose upon the past; Arbor Day proposes for the future.”
Trees are an integral part of the Earth's environment.
In 1872, Morton proposed the idea of having a tree planting holiday called “Arbor Day” during a meeting of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture.  The Board of Agriculture approved the idea and Nebraska eventually had an Arbor Day celebration which encouraged people to plant trees.  An estimated 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska during the first Arbor Day celebration in 1872. 
Morton’s advocacy for planting and protecting trees serves as a great legacy for future generations to follow.  “Each generation takes the Earth as trustees.  We ought to bequeath to posterity as many forests and orchards as we have exhausted and consumed.” – Julius Sterling Morton.

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