Arbor Day 2010
2010 Activities
• Seedling education and distribution to District 58 Little Sprouts participants 
and Downers Grove Park District Preschool students.
•Tree planting demonstration on Friday, April 30th at 11 am, located at the Recreation Center, 4500 Belmont Road.
•Staff from the Morton Arboretum will be on site during the tree planting demonstration and seedling give away from 11 am - 12:30 pm to answer questions.
•Pick up your free seedling after the demonstration at the Recreation Center during regular hours of operation (limited quantity, while supplies last).
In partnership with Pierce Downer Heritage Alliance and Morton Arboretum
History of Arbor Day*
The first Arbor Day took place on April 10, 1872 in Nebraska. The original idea for the holiday came from Julius Sterling Morton. Morton was a journalist and politician who moved west from Michigan. He felt Nebraska’s land and economy would benefit from the planting of trees. He set the example himself on his Nebraska City, Nebraska acreage, planting orchards and wind breaks and he urged his neighbors to do the same. On Nebraska’s first Arbor Day, more than a million trees were planted statewide. In the years following that first occasion, all 50 states have proclaimed their own Arbor Days, although the dates may vary with each state’s local climate. Illinois’s Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April.
*Information contributed through various sources.
Helpful Links
Morton Arboretum - www.mortonarb.org
Chicago Botanic Garden - www.chicago-botanic.org
International Society of Arboriculture - www.isa-arbor.com
National Arbor Day Foundation - www.arborday.org
Tips from the Forester - by Mike Stelter
Benefits of Trees
Planting a tree is a great way to improve the aesthetics of the landscape through form, bark characteristics, spring flowers, fall color, fruit, and it is a way to help the environment by improving air quality, reducing water runoff, holding soil in place, giving wildlife a place to live and providing cool shade for all. 
Aesthetics are usually the main reason trees are planted. The form of a tree, if it is upright or spreading, single stem or multi-stem, is often the main characteristic looked at by tree planters. However, there is much more to consider. Bark color and texture can often add interest to the landscape in the seasons when foliage is absent. Bark can be smooth like on a young red maple tree, striated like the stems of a serviceberry, peeling like cinnamon colored bark of a river birch, or even thick and rough like a mature oak tree. Spring flowering trees like crabapple, serviceberry, and redbud are showy trees noticed by many people, but looking for the subtle flowers of silver maple, alder and hazelnut are often the first signs that spring is on the way. Fruit on landscape trees can take many forms from the acorns of oaks and the cones on a pine to the persistent fruits of crabapples, and have some ornamental qualities, but all are an important food source for local wildlife. Fall color is another quality displayed by many species. From the intense reds and oranges of the maples and white ash, clear yellows of the green ash and elms to the subdued purples of hazelnut, there are many changes to look for in the fall when it comes to colors.
The enhancements to the environment from from planting trees are many and are being documented and quantified by university research. Trees improve air quality by removing carbon dioxide from the air during photosynthesis, producing oxygen and storing carbon in plant structures. Many gaseous pollutants are also removed by trees through air exchange in the leaves, as are air borne particulates that are collected on leaf and branch surfaces. Tree canopies intercept and slow down rainfall through the year, allowing this water to infiltrate into the soil and replenish soil moisture. Fibrous tree roots, along with herbaceous plants, help to hold soil in place along lakes and streams, reducing erosion and siltation. Wildlife – insects, birds, and mammals all take advantage of various parts of a tree to complete their life cycles, forage for food and seek shelter.
The cooling effects of the shade cast by trees in the summer can be felt in many ways. As an individual, sitting in the shade of a large tree during a hot day can be a welcome break. However, trees can also help shade your house or air conditioning unit, reducing the amount of energy used to keep things cool. In a broader sense, integrating large scale tree plantings into urban areas can help to reduce the “heat island” effect caused by the large expanses of asphalt and concrete that is a part of the suburban infrastructure by casting shade across these surfaces through the day, and directly absorbing heat.
Watch a LIVE tree planting demonstration on April 30th at 11am at the Recreation Center. Then take home your FREE Oak seedling to plant in your own yard and see how the new tree can benefit your environment. 
