Submitted by Mark Derowitsch, Arbor Day Foundation
This year California residents will be celebrating Arbor Day March 7 to March-14. While National Arbor Day is held on the last Friday in April, California, similar to several other states, observes the holiday at a time best suited to its growing season.
California has 152 Tree City USA communities. Tree City USA is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters and was established to recognize communities that are committed to its trees. More than 120 million Americans live in a Tree City USA community.
The first Arbor Day was celebrated in Nebraska on April 10, 1872, thanks to a resolution proposed by Nebraska City resident J. Sterling Morton. Morton, a civic leader, agriculturist and former newspaper editor, urged Nebraskans to “set aside one day to plant trees, both forest and fruit.” The tree-planting holiday was so popular that by 1920, more than 45 states and U.S. territories annually celebrated Arbor Day. Today, Arbor Day is observed in all 50 states and in many countries around the world.
The California redwood includes coast redwood, Sequoia semprivans, and the Sierra big tree, Sequoia gigantea. Both trees were adopted in 1937 as the state tree of California since both fit the category of a California redwood. The tallest tree can be found in Humboldt County where a 364-foot coast redwood stands, earning its name as the Founders Tree.
The largest sierra, the General Sherman Tree, is found in the Sierra National Park and has a circumference of 102.6 feet. This tree is also thought to be around 3,000-4,000 years old. Once populating the entire North American continent, environment changes have limited the redwoods to the Pacific Coast region.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation organization of nearly one million members, with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs or ways to celebrate Arbor Day can be found at www.arborday.org.
