Add Your Event
Let’s spread the word about the holiday, your celebration, and the importance of trees in our world! Complete and submit the details below for your celebration to be included in our events feed.
Questions? Contact us at [email protected].
Planning Calendar
8 Months Out
- Organize your planning committee.
- Identify goals for the celebration.
- Discuss options for activities, programs and presentations.
- Identify financial needs and fundraising possibilities.
- Identify volunteer jobs and committees and write up descriptions.
- Solicit committee chairs with specific job and committee descriptions.
- Define a fundraising plan.
- Write a press release (or article) for the newspaper, informing the community of the celebration.
- Identify official participants, entertainment, speakers and local celebrities and request that they put the event on their calendars.
- Visit with a local nursery to order tree seedlings or order them from the Arbor Day Foundation.
2 Months Out
- Begin soliciting donations of needed materials.
- Meet with committee chairs to coordinate/identify efforts.
- Begin public fundraising events.
- Ask the newspaper to publish a small article listing committee members and chairs as well as some of the planned activities.
- Confirm dates and times with officials, entertainment, speakers, etc.
- Meet with schools to coordinate efforts to include students in the tree planting ceremony.
- Meet with a city forester, tree board or horticulturist to identify the tree needs within the community and how to help meet them with the Arbor Day celebration.
- Discuss tree needs with a nursery and place an advance order for trees you’d like to plant during the ceremony.
- Solicit volunteers for the event.
1 Month Out
- Plan tree planting ceremonies with school and community officials.
- Continue with fundraising events.
- Write the program for the event.
- Identify additional financial needs and fundraising possibilities.
- Ask city officials to schedule a proclamation signing the week before Arbor Day.
- Confirm the tree order and delivery schedule with nursery.
- Arrange for someone to dig the hole and correctly plant the tree and provide follow-up care.
- Call your local utility company to ensure that it’s safe to dig.
2–3 Weeks Out
- Schedule a committee chair meeting to make sure every committee is successfully completing assigned activities.
- Determine the status of funds and make plans accordingly.
- Reconfirm with outside participants.
- Schedule a press conference and press release for the week of Arbor Day.
- Distribute flyers and posters with the celebration’s scheduled activities.
- Assign volunteers any last-minute job assignments.
Day of the Celebration
- Plant trees.
- Enjoy the event!
Post-Event Follow-Up
- Pay bills and make arrangements for all remaining financial obligations.
- Write thank you notes to all who participated in an official role.
- Check on tree care committees to make sure they have what they need to follow up.
- Hold an assessment meeting with committee chairs to determine what went well and how things could be improved next year.
Fundraising Ideas
It is beneficial if all the money needed for your event can be raised before too much work has been completed. There are several opportunities to raise money for an Arbor Day celebration, including plenty of ideas related to trees.
Honor others with trees
Offer the opportunity to purchase tree plantings. People can pay to have trees planted in honor of employees, family and friends. Then provide the honoree with information about the tree and location.
Craft show fundraiser
Hold a craft show with a focus on natural materials and either charge a booth fee or request a percentage of profits.
Stewardship luncheon
Sponsor a stewardship luncheon and sell tickets to area businesses. Invite people to submit nominations for community environmental stewards.
Tree care workshop
Offer a workshop led by a tree expert on planting and caring for trees. Charge admission and provide time for Q&A and hands-on planting.
Silent auction
Hold a silent auction, with items donated by businesses and community members.
Community garage sale
Host a community garage sale. Charge a table fee for sellers and ask for a percentage of profits from food vendors.
Boost local business visiblity
Ask local businesses to sponsor certain events or provide free materials for an activity. Put the company’s name or logo up prominently at the event.
Volunteer hours
Ask parent groups and adult organizations to contribute—particularly in the form of volunteer hours.
Sample Program
Begin by presenting the flag, with scouts or veterans’ groups being good choices for presenters. Welcome remarks from an elected official or community leader can set the tone, followed by a reading of the Arbor Day Proclamation. Recognize a local good steward, with nominations accepted in advance, and share a few words on the importance of trees and wise environmental stewardship.
Plant a tree together, then read a brief history of Arbor Day, emphasizing the role of trees in environmental health. Invite older community members to share memories of past Arbor Day celebrations, and incorporate songs, poems, or plays about trees. Recognize commitments to future stewardship projects, retire the flag with a closing song, and offer seedlings or gift certificates for planting trees at home.
What Successful Projects Have in Common
A key individual who serves as the leader
A clear goal
A well-organized plan
A planning group that can work well as a team and garner widespread community support
The incorporation of professional expertise
Available funding for the project and continuing care
A variety of tasks for volunteers
Public recognition for those involved