There are so many ways that trees positively affect us, our communities, and our world. Check out the details on the Arbor Day Foundation website: https://www.arborday.org/trees/treefacts/
- Trees help clean our air
- Trees contribute to our health
- Trees provide us with oxygen
- Trees provide much-needed cooling
- Trees help reduce the effects of climate change
- Trees help us save energy
- Trees benefit wildlife
- Trees help reduce crime
- Trees are a good investment of our public dollars
- Trees increase our property values
Arbor Day Is Not Just Any Day
WHAT IS ARBOR DAY?
Arbor Day, much like Earth Day, is a holiday that celebrates nature.
Its purpose is to encourage people to plant trees, and many communities traditionally take the opportunity to organize tree-planting and litter-collecting events on or around the holiday. A popular Arbor Day tradition is to plant a tree in honor or memory of a loved one.
THE HISTORY OF ARBOR DAY
Arbor Day sprouted from the mind of a zealous tree lover named Julius Sterling Morton, who had a passion for planting all kinds of trees.
The first Arbor Day occurred on April 10, 1872, in Nebraska City, Nebraska. It’s estimated that nearly one million trees were planted on this day.
By 1885, Arbor Day became a legal holiday in Nebraska. The date was changed to April 22 to honor Morton’s birthday. On that day, thousands of Nebraska City citizens turned out for one big party, including 1,000 school-children who formed a parade.
Within 20 years of its creation, the holiday was celebrated in every American state except Delaware, which eventually joined in.
Particularly pleasing to Morton was the fact that schools across the country began celebrating Arbor Day by dedicating the trees they planted to special people.
Fun Fact: Arbor Day was almost called Sylvan Day, which means “wooded.” Several members of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture favored 
it, but Morton argued that sylvan refers only to forest trees and that the name Arbor Day was most inclusive, covering forest trees and fruit trees.
“Other holidays repose upon the past;
Arbor Day proposes for the future.”
–J. Sterling Morton.
Read More about Julius Sterling Morton and Arbor Day on the Old Farmer’s Almanac website: https://www.almanac.com/content/arbor-day-history-facts-date
Roswell Garden Club encourages you to consider joining the Arbor Day Foundation. Membership starts at $10, and new members choose one of these free gifts: 10 free trees for you, 10 trees planted in a threatened rainforest, or 10 trees planted in our nation’s forests. Check it out here: https://shop.arborday.org/content.aspx?page=memberships
Since October and November are the months to plant a tree in Georgia, be sure and choose FALL PLANTING. There are tutorials available on the internet about how to plant a tree, and extension.uga.edu provides great information and resources specifically for Georgia.