It's Arbor Day!
By Chris Petry
Arbor Day has a marketing problem. Think about it. Spirit Halloween begins opening their doors in August. Millions phone in dinner reservations and purchase heart-shaped chocolate boxes for their significant others on Valentine’s Day. Americans from the Atlantic to the Pacific and North to the Arctic Circle will let off fireworks on July 4th to celebrate their independence. On Arbor Day, people will… See what I mean? It’s the kind of holiday that comes and goes each year with little to no fanfare, despite the fact that the central theme of Arbor Day, planting trees, is extremely important to our ecosystem.
Taking it a step further, it’s essential to our very being. Nearly 30% of our oxygen comes from the plant life around us, mostly trees. According to the National Association of Homebuilders, wood framing is still, by a substantial margin, the most popular construction method in the U.S. They estimate that 93% of new homes are wood framed while a mere 7% are concrete framed. Less than half a percent utilizes steel framing. The world produces 400 million tons of paper every year for school and office use. Bath tissue producer, Cottonelle, reports that each person will go through an average-sized toilet paper roll every 4.3 days. There are 365 days in a year, and while my math skills come number two to my language skills (yes, pun very much intended), that’s about 85 rolls a year per person! In short, trees are VERY important to humankind.
The Mayor of the Spanish village of Mondoñedo organized the world’s first Arbor Day celebration in… you’re not ready for this, 1594! J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska City, Nebraska is credited with staging the first American Arbor Day in 1872 when participants planted an estimated one million trees throughout the Cornhusker State. Today, Nebraska is still the headquarters for the Arbor Day Foundation.
People have seemingly always recognized the importance of trees. Hard to be dismissive of such a valuable resource. Yet, when discussions regarding peoples’ favorite observances come up, few cite Arbor Day as a favorite. So, why is that? Lack of a tree-shaped mascot? No immediate reward? While either of those explanations are possible, it probably comes down to the holiday’s very narrow scope. On Earth Day, we celebrate the planting of vegetation as well as the cleaning of our oceans, forests, and roadways. We encourage planting AND recycling. We discuss the benefits of reducing our reliance on single-use non-biodegradable substances like plastic. We talk up the benefits of making our homes more energy efficient by installing solar panels, high-efficiency appliances, bamboo flooring and insulation.
At first glance, the replacement of trees might seem secondary but to the contrary. Those trees become the bamboo flooring. Those trees become the recyclable paper bags that replace the plastic. Trees are planted near factories and plants to deflect and absorb airborne waste used to produce the environmentally friendly products we need. Trees are maybe the single most important piece of the environmental puzzle and if it takes someone walking around in a tree costume with googly eyes and delivering seeds via peoples’ chimneys to raise awareness, then we should seriously consider it.
This Friday is Arbor Day. Yes, THIS FRIDAY. April 25th. So, let’s all commit to giving Arbor Day its moment to shine. Can’t personally be part of the planting efforts? Sponsor someone who can. Donate to organizations who will. There are many ways to make a difference but no future that includes us is bereft of trees. The only thing on Earth that predates them is sharks. Don’t get me started down that rabbit hole. Let’s plant some trees, people!
