Arbor Day was founded 1872 by J. Sterling Morton who said, “Other holidays repose upon the past; Arbor Day proposes for the future.” That’s precisely the kind of forward thinking that is at the core of Trees Atlanta’s mission.
Each state has its own Arbor Day, depending on the best time to plant trees. In Georgia, our ideal planting season runs from October through March, so we celebrate Arbor Day each year on the third Friday in February.
This year, Trees Atlanta will celebrate Arbor Day with a week of activities and celebrations, February 11-20. The highlight event is the 2016 Mayors’ Symposium on Urban Forestry and the Tree City USA Celebration, jointly presented by Trees Atlanta, the Georgia Forestry Commission, and the Georgia Urban Forest Council. The meeting and celebration will be held at Trees Atlanta’s Kendeda Center on February 17, with Speakers including Danielle Crumrine, Executive Director of Tree Pittsburgh, and Josh Lippert, Senior Environmental Planner for the City of Pittsburgh. Ryan Gravel, visionary of the Atlanta BeltLine, will lead a panel discussion on “Planning and Designing our Cities with Trees”.
The goals of the Mayors’ Symposium is to learn how other cities meet the challenges of making space for trees with new ideas for urban forestry, strategies to protect the urban forest, and improved communication among civic leaders, city officials, and commercial developers.
Other activities in the weeklong Georgia Arbor Day celebration include a lunch-and-learn program and other activities at the Trees Atlanta TreeHouse; planting sessions on Dekalb Avenue, in Inman Park, and Lullwater Park; an Arboretum walking tour; and an Arbor Day Tween Time at the Smyrna Library.
For a full schedule of Georgia Arbor week please visit https://treesatlanta.org/news/georgia-arbor-week-2016/
