How Thankful Are You For Your Trees?

It’s April – the month of National Arbor Day. What a great month! Flowers are blooming, trees are leafing out and everyone is getting outdoors more as the weather warms and sun shines bright. It is the season of renewal and hope for a great spring and summer ahead.

Arbor Day is the tree planter’s holiday and it creates an easy excuse to pause and think about how amazing trees are. Around the globe, people will be planting and celebrating trees on Arbor Day. Teachers and their students, families, volunteers and civic leaders will be turning dirt, planting trees and adding to the beauty and canopy of their neighborhoods everywhere. Everyone loves trees. It is rare to meet someone who does not have a personal story to share about a favorite tree or a memory they have of planting a tree in their lives. Trees are awesome in so many ways.

Our vision is to be a world leader in helping increase the use and recognition of trees as a solution to many of the most complex issues facing our globe today. Whether they are improving air quality, managing and cleaning water supplies, reducing energy consumption, providing food and critical resources to habitat and humans, trees are working hard every day, and it is important to recognize and appreciate the resource they can be for us all. We are working hard, each day, through our programs and partnerships to do just that.

We are proudly working in communities large and small across the nation and globe to celebrate and promote proper tree care and management. We are helping to restore and revitalize critical forest lands that have been devastated due to fire, storms, disease and insects. We are engaging youth with nature in a positive and inspiring way that we know will help to make them advocates of conservation as they grow to become adults and leaders in their respective communities.

We have made great strides but there is still work to be done. We are blessed to have great members – almost one million across the nation – and partners who are engaged and help us advance our goals and work. We build public and private partnerships that cut across social, political, and professional worlds to achieve common community goals – through trees.

This April, as you take a moment to enjoy the spring. Remember to give a nod to the trees on your block, your neighborhood and in your community. They are working hard day in and day out to make your life better. Help us celebrate Arbor Day this April 29^th, and remember that you are always welcome to help us plant trees anywhere and anytime – visit www.arborday.org to learn we’re doing and learn how you can help. Happy Arbor Day!