Arbor Day: Plant More Trees For a Better Tomorrow

Every year, Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday of April, although some states observe it on dates that better coincide with the local area’s planting times. For instance, Hawaii celebrates Arbor Day on the first Friday of November, and Alaskans celebrate it on the third Monday in May. But the main purpose of this day is to encourage people to plant trees, and many communities traditionally take the opportunity to organize tree-planting and litter-collecting events on or around the holiday.

History of Arbor Day: 

• Arbor Day originated from the mind of enthusiastic tree lover named Julius Sterling Morton, who had a passion for planting all kinds of trees. The first Arbor Day occurred on April 10, 1872, in Nebraska City, Nebraska. It’s estimated that nearly one million trees were planted on this day.

• By 1885, Arbor Day had become a legal holiday in Nebraska. (The date was changed to April 22 to honor Morton’s birthday, which was also the 22nd of April.) On that day, thousands of Nebraska City citizens turned out for one big party, including 1,000 school-children who formed a parade.

• Within 20 years of its creation, the holiday was celebrated in every American state except Delaware, which eventually joined in. Particularly pleasing to Morton was the fact that schools across the country began celebrating Arbor Day by dedicating the trees they planted to special people.

Indian Scenario: 

Every year in our country, massive plantation drives have been launched with the target of planting millions of trees on a single day. In a bid to give impetus to this drive, the government also encourages the village panchayats. The central government’s afforestation scheme, Green India Mission (GIM), was able to only achieve 2.8 per cent of its plantation target, according to the Economic Survey released by the Ministry of Finance on January 29, 2021.

“The various afforestation activities, including tree plantation, were taken up over 8.49 m ha area from 2015-16 to 2019-20 under the various schemes of the Central Government, inclusive of 0.14 m ha under this mission,” the survey says. But afforestation done under the mission was only aimed at increasing tree count without considering the soil and weather conditions. “Trees like eucalyptus were planted which make environmental problems worse rather than solving it. Planting of unsuitable trees may cause drought and prevent biodiversity in the regions,” the report said. Therefore, for the sustainable growth, we should always prefer indigenous plant species while planting.

Trees are essential for our life. As the biggest plants on the planet, they give us oxygen, store carbon and reduce the effect of global warming, protect the soil and give life to the world's wildlife.  At last I would like to quote one of my favorite quotation:

If you cut a tree, you kill a life. If you save a tree, you save a life. If you plant a tree, you plant a life.