Rewards
Written by Kate Curry
What Is Arbor Day?
Started in Nebraska by J. Sterling Morton, Arbor Day was created as a tree planting holiday at a meeting of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture. During the first celebration, prizes were offered to the person who plants the most trees - and people took it to heart. Over 1 million trees were planted on the first celebration of Arbor Day.
The idea of Arbor day spread throughout the USA and by the 1920’s, the majority of the country was celebrating Arbor day. The meaning behind Arbor day is to plant, upkeep, and preserve the trees and nature that we are surrounded by!
When Is Arbor Day?
Arbor Day is most commonly celebrated on the last Friday of April, but the date can be different depending on the state. The date can be determined by what the best planting time is in the region. 2022 will be the 150th anniversary of Arbor day, so there are bound to be tons of awesome events happening in your local area
You can find out when Arbor day is for you and what local events are happening here: Arborday.org
Arbor Day & Tree Facts
- According to a 2014 study, students with trees outside of their school windows have higher test scores and graduation rates!. (source)
- Forests are home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. In the U.S. alone, forests house 9,195 vascular plants and 1,165 vertebrate species.(source)
- Hawaii celebrates Arbor Day on the first Friday in November because of their planting season! (source)
- The National Arbor Day Foundation held a vote for America's favorite tree, which happens to be the oak, which is now America’s national tree! (source)
- Did you know that champion trees are a thing?! Champion trees are trees that are the largest of their species. Champions are chosen every year- you can check them out here! (source)
Arbor Day Activities
The most popular Arbor Day activity is obviously planting trees! Before you start planting it is important to follow these steps
- Make sure that you have permission to plant with whoever owns the land.
- Ask for help- sometimes treelings can be heavy and may need more than one person to plant.
- Make sure you have enough room for the tree to grow! Trees need to be planted in deep holes so the roots have enough room to grow.
- Pick a tree that is native to your home- invasive species, including trees, are not helpful to the natural biome of your home. You can find out what trees (and plants) are native to you right here: Native Plant Finder
But if you can’t get out there and plant some trees, we have some tree-themed projects you could do!
Darn Good Yarn x Trees.org
Our partnership with Trees For The Future is another way we like to give back and fuel positive change on our shared planet. Last year, Darn Good Yarn partnered with Trees For The Future to plant 20,000 trees! Now we have an even larger goal and we’ll need your help to reach it. Darn Good Yarn would like to plant 30,000 trees this year!
With your help, Darn Good Yarn would like to plant a tree for every purchase made from our Be Darn Good Collection. For every item purchased from this collection, we will fund a tree being planted by Trees For The Future. This team works so hard to plant trees that help farmers across 9 different countries reduce food scarcity and fight land erosion.
Now that you know a bit more about Arbor Day, let’s get planting!
Kate has been on the Darn Good Yarn team since 2018.
They have their degree in Creative Art Therapy & Psychology - and like crafting and animals a little too much.
