Take The Time To Give Future Room To Grow

The year 1996 marks the 124th celebration of Arbor Day. But will the real Arbor Day please stand up? There seems to be a bit of confusion about which day is really the official day - April 10, 22, 24 or the last Friday in April?

To lessen some of this confusion, I gleaned a bit of history from the Spokane County Conservation District newsletter:

On Jan. 4, 1872, J. Sterling Morton, a newspaper publisher and member of the Nebraska Board of Agriculture, introduced and secured adoption of a resolution creating Arbor Day in the state of Nebraska. It was to be a tree-planting celebration on April 10, 1872 - the same day as a meeting of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture. Emphasis was placed on educating schoolchildren on trees, forest fire prevention, plant diseases and birds. Apparently the day was a roaring success. It is said that over one million trees were planted in Nebraska on that single day.

After Morton’s death, the Nebraska Legislature changed the date of Arbor Day to his birthday, April 22, and made it a legal holiday within the state.

By 1920, many states and even some other countries had picked up on the idea and were celebrating Arbor Day. Then, in 1970, President Nixon proclaimed April 24, a Friday in that year, as National Arbor Day. Apparently April 10 wasn’t suitable and April 22 didn’t work into the Friday schedule. And apparently, neither did April 24, for in 1988, the National Arbor Day bill was passed. It named the last Friday of April as the official National Arbor Day. Clear so far?

Set that information to one side, because now it’s the state’s turn. States have always been able to set their own Arbor Day. Back in 1917, Washington Gov. Lister proclaimed April 13, a Friday, as Arbor Day. But in 1957, the Legislature passed a law naming the second Wednesday of April as Arbor Day. That means Washington state officially celebrated Arbor Day this year on April 10.

So, since that date has passed, why am I writing about Arbor Day now? Because each city celebrates Arbor Day when it chooses, and Spokane will be celebrating Arbor Day on Saturday, April 27.

I don’t mean to make light of this important celebration, since this is an occasion to pay our respects to our trees. Not only are trees and plants necessary to our psychic well-being, they also are regulators of the necessary elements of life - carbon, water and nitrogen cycles, and ultimately the world’s climate. Plants create and drive the atmosphere, determining the fate of Earth and of mankind. As we’ve been told for eons, we must be stewards of the land. We must give back what we take; otherwise the land will begin taking from us.

During this Arbor month, we can add a little renewed life to our Earth by planting a tree, but always making sure it’s the right tree in the right place. We can also join in on one of the Earth Day celebrations taking place in our area.

If we don’t plant a tree, we can certainly learn how to take care of what we have. Spokane County Conservation District and Boise Cascade have donated thousands of tree seedlings to be given away at Riverfront Park in Spokane on the next two Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Also, Washington Water Power and several local nurseries will be participating with educational or commercial displays.

To continue the celebration, the Finch Arboretum will be hosting its annual Arbor Day celebration on Saturday, April 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The day will consist of all sorts of displays including native plants, community gardens, pruning demonstrations, hands-on activities for children, and composting demonstrations by the Master Composters. So bring the family and have a blast.

“Other holidays repose in the past; Arbor Day proposes for the future.” - Sterling Morton, founder of Arbor Day.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review