Michele, a self-proclaimed medium green, combines her enthusiasm for communicating about the green industry, with a deep appreciation for all things gardening. Her blogs provide information from the homeowner’s perspective, moving between what works now and what the future might hold.
Friday marks over 135 years since J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day in Nebraska. Now more than ever trees are being destroyed by wildfires, insects, diseases and natural disasters making Morton's simple idea of a special day for planting trees more important than ever.
According to the Arbor Day Foundation, the benefits trees provide are enormous:
- Over the course of 50 years, a single tree can generate $31,250 of oxygen, provide $62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycle $37,500 worth of water, and control $31,500 worth of soil erosion.
- "More than 160,000,000 Americans have healthy, clean drinking water thanks to life-giving forests.
- New trees are urgently needed to filter rain water and snowmelt and keep mud, ash, and silt from contaminating fresh-water lakes and reservoirs.
- Forests also clean our air, absorb carbon dioxide, and provide vital habitat for threatened wildlife.
How You Can Help
The time to act is now. Here in Western New York native trees are being invaded by invasive insects and some trees still show the damage of winter storms. Residents can help:
- Plant a tree to mark a celebration or memory.
- Read a book about trees.
- Learn to identify trees in your yard or neighborhood.
- Enjoy the outdoors and remembering to look up.
- Visit a local park or take a nature hike.
- Attend a class on trees and their care.
- Volunteer with a local tree-planting organization.
- Find out how trees can make an impact on your wallet, CLICK HERE >>
Another way to help trees is by becoming a member of the Arbor Day Foundation. As a member, you receive the following great benefits for $10:
- Ten (10) FREE flowering trees suited for the Western New York hardiness zone.
- Tree Discounts: You’ll also receive a 33 percent discount on over 100 trees and shrubs.
- Arbor Day subscription: Free subscription to a colorful bimonthly newsletter. Arbor Day is a gardener’s handbook and tree information guide in one.
- The Tree Book: The Tree Book is a treasury of genuinely useful guidance about planting and caring for trees in a cheerfully colorful format.
With more than one million trees planted in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day on April 10, 1872, I think we can do our part here in Western New York.
