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Like other Massachusetts communities, Arlington celebrates Arbor Day. Every year, the DPW Tree Division and Arlington Schools distribute 250 seedlings to fifth graders in selected schools. Schools participate on a rotating basis.
This national holiday originated in 1854, when pioneers who had moved to the Nebraska Territory from the East grew homesick for the forests they had left behind. A newspaper editor, J. Sterling Morton, did such a good job promoting the first Arbor Day – which took place on April 10, 1872, that more than one million trees were planted in Nebraska on that date. The idea spread quickly and Arbor Day is now observed in all fifty states and in other countries, too. The most common date is the last Friday in April, although warmer states generally celebrate earlier to make the most of ideal tree-planting weather. For more information, visit www.arborday.org.
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