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The first American Arbor Day was originated by J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska City, Nebraska, at an annual meeting of the Nebraska State board of agriculture held in Lincoln. On April 10, 1872, an estimated one million trees were planted in Nebraska. Birdsey Northrop of Connecticut was responsible for globalizing the idea when he visited Japan in 1883 and delivered his Arbor Day and Village Improvement message. In that same year, the American Forestry Association made Northrop the Chairman of the committee to campaign for Arbor Day nationwide. He also brought his enthusiasm for Arbor Day to Australia, Canada, and Europe.
To our readers,
Washington news May 20
Arbor week
This week is Arbor Week, a nationally designated time set aside for planting trees and learning about their life-giving functions.
A Nebraska newspaper publisher and his wife, Sterling and Caroline Morton, organized the first Arbor Day in April 1872. Over the next few decades, the idea spread to other states and Canada. Connecticut agriculturalist Birdsey Northrop brought the idea to Japan and continued to influence the creation of Arbor Days across Europe and Australia.
Today, Arbor Day is observed in 50 countries. Arbor Day has always been popular in communities, but wasn’t recognized nationally until 1970 by President Richard Nixon.