Arbor Day is Every Day

Arbor Day (from the Latin arbor, meaning tree) is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. It originated in Nebraska City, Nebraska, United States by J. Sterling Morton. The first Arbor Day was held on April 10 1872 and an estimated one million trees were planted that day.

Its all about Trees!
Photo by J.Borno

Many countries now observe a similar holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date varies, depending on climate and suitable planting season.

Trees need light and water.
Photo by J.Borno

In Canada, there is no official Arbor Day or week but instead we have a Maple Leaf Day, which falls on the last Wednesday in September during National Forest Week.

Some provinces celebrate their own Arbor Day:
Ontario has Arbor Week from the last Friday in April to the first Sunday in May.
Nova Scotia’s, Arbor Day is on the Thursday during National Forest Week, the first full week in May.

Oak trees in the fall at Penticton, BC, Canada
Photo by J.Borno

In the United States, National Arbor Day is the last Friday in April, and each state celebrates its own Arbor Day.

This tree is a shining star!
Photo by J.Borno

China celebrates Arbor Day or Tree Planting Day as a public holiday on March 12.

Fall Leaves
Photo by J.Borno

Trees remove (sequester) CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis to form carbohydrates that are used in plant structure/function and return oxygen back to the atmosphere as a byproduct.

Winter Beauty
Photo by J.Borno

A few Tree facts and Carbon Sequestration (the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere).

Heat from Earth is trapped in the atmosphere due to high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other heat-trapping gases that prohibit it from releasing heat into space — creating a phenomenon known as the “greenhouse effect.” About half of the greenhouse effect is caused by CO2.

Trees therefore act as a carbon sink by removing the carbon and storing it as cellulose in their trunk, branches, leaves and roots while releasing oxygen back into the air.

Trees also reduce the greenhouse effect by shading our homes and office buildings.

This reduces air conditioning needs up to 30%, thereby reducing the amount of fossil fuels burned to produce electricity.

This combination of CO2 removal from the atmosphere, carbon storage in wood, and the cooling effect makes trees a very efficient tool in fighting the greenhouse effect.

One tree that shades your home in the city will also save fossil fuel, cutting CO2 buildup as much as 15 forest trees.

In one urban park (212 ha), tree cover was found to remove daily 48 lbs particulates, 9 lbs nitrogen dioxide, 6 lbs sulfur dioxide, and 1/2 lbs carbon monoxide.

Planting trees remains one of the cheapest, most effective means of drawing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.

A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 lbs./year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support 2 human beings.

Each person in the U.S. generates approximately 2.3 tons of CO2 each year.

A healthy tree stores about 13 pounds of carbon annually — or 2.6 tons per acre each year.

An acre of trees absorbs enough CO2 over one year to equal the amount produced by driving a car 26,000 miles.

If every American family planted just one tree, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be reduced by one billion lbs annually.

This is almost 5% of the amount that human activity pumps into the atmosphere each year.

The U.S. Forest Service estimates that all the forests in the United States combined sequestered a net of approximately 309 million tons of carbon per year from 1952 to 1992, offsetting approximately 25% of U.S. human-caused emissions of carbon during that period.

Over a 50-year lifetime, a tree generates $31,250 worth of oxygen, provides $62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycles $37,500 worth of water, and controls $31,250 worth of soil erosion.

Just another Rocky Mountain moment!