植树节 Arbor Day

History of Arbor Day

J. Sterling Morton is generally recognized as the father of Arbor Day in this county. He saw the need for setting aside one day for the planting of trees and to the delivering of speeches, etc. outlining the importance of trees. Other conservationists like B.G. Northrup, George P. Marsh and A.S. Draper, as well as President Theodore Roosevelt, were also concerned about the future of our nation's trees. Many of these men were alarmed at the rapid destruction of huge forests by the lumbering interests in that era. In addition to seeking legislation and other legal action to prevent this plundering of forest resources, these men saw in Sterling Morton's Arbor Day effort a positive method of rekindling in the minds of all people the importance of trees. Immediately they began to encourage the establishment of Arbor Day observances in other states until the movement encompassed all the United States.

Morton's first Arbor Day in Nebreaska was observed on April 10, 1872 by the planting of over one million trees in the state.

The word "arbor" is derived from the Latin word for "tree". J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska is given the credit as the actual founder of Arbor Day, but he never carried it beyond his native state. Birdsey Northrup, on the other hand, was the one who instigated arbor day as an annual ritual in schools, promoted it all over the United States and was the single motivating force behind the creation of Arbor Day in Hawaii, Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan.

After a varied career, Dr. Northrup became Secretary of the Connecticut Board of Education, during which time he established the free school system in the state and is credited with being responsible for the general acceptance of Arbor Day as a part of school programs in many states. He travelled all over the state speaking without charge on improving the environment. He studied forestry in Europe which resulted in 14 books and pamphlets he wrote between 1877 and 1892. By 1885, 16 states had officially adopted Dr. Northrup's plan for the observance of Arbor Day.

Many noted men of agriculture and conservation felt as Morton did regarding the need to encourage tree planting: Robert W. Furnas, J.H. Masters and O.P. Mason, to name but three.

Great preparations were made at the Morton farm for the first Arbor day in 1872. Eight hundred trees were ordered. So well did the idea take hold that over one million trees were planted on that date. In 1874, Governor Robert W. Furnas, bolstered by a resolution passed by the State Board of Agriculture making the day an annual occurrence, designated the second Wednesday in April of each year as Arbor Day. It grew in favor and popularity. Many states followed Nebraska's example and passes Arbor Day bills setting aside various dates. However, interest in observances began to wane by 1915 and continued to decline in many areas until late in the thirties.

In 1936, the idea of a National Arbor Day was conceived by Edward H. Scanlon, editor and publisher of TREES Magazine. He was vitally aware of the indifference of many people to the importance of trees and felt that this indifference could be counteracted by the simultaneous observance of Arbor Day on the same day throughout the nation.