On the last Friday of this April, the United States will celebrate National Arbor Day, a celebration that dates back to 1872 and the conservation efforts of J. Sterling Morton. While the holiday has been celebrated in similar ways throughout its history, celebrations have been changing in recent years as technology, interest and resources have developed. The following is a list of Arbor Day celebration activities that you can use to support environmental consciousness and sustainability in your community.

• The City of Coconut Creek, FL marks the passage of Arbor Day with Free Tree Giveaways. Learn more about the tradition in “Two Grants Awarded for Coconut Creek, FL.”
• “Mark It with a Tree,” illuminates Clayton Missouri’s program of using trees as bulletins to post notices about Arbor Day celebrations in the month leading up to the holiday.
• Tarmac, Florida offered students at Challenger Elementary School trees to take home and plant on Arbor Day. Read about their program in “Taramac, FL Fourth Grade Foresters Celebrate Arbor Day.”
• Check out “River Falls, WI Honored With Tree City USA Growth Award,” for information on how hosting Arbor Day festivities can make your community eligible for national recognitions.
• For a rundown of traditional Arbor Day celebration ideas, please review the Arbor Day Foundation’s “Celebrate Arbor Day Guidebook.”

If you would like to learn more about engaging Arbor Day celebration, feel free to search the Knowledge Network, or look for ideas in the Climate Change, Environmental Liability, Forestry, or Parks & Recreation Management topic pages. If you would care to share your community’s innovative Arbor Day celebration ideas, please feel free to tell us about them in the comments section below this post.

Aloha,

James Davidson

James Davidson is an intern for ICMA’s Knowledge Network. You can reach him for questions and comments at jdavidson@icma.org.