1872: The first Arbor Day is held in Nebraska City, Nebraska  An estimated 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska
during the first Arbor Day.

1972: The Arbor Day Foundation is formed to celebrate
the 100th anniversary of Arbor Day and to carry
on the mission of the tree planters’ holiday

1976: Tree City USA® begins, with 42 communities in 15 states honored. Today, more than 3,600 cities and towns are honored as Tree City USA communities

1989: The Trees for America® program kicks off with a visible public service campaign featuring John Denver

1990: The Arbor Day Foundation begins working with the U.S. Forest Service to plant trees in America’s national forests in need of reforestation. Since 1990, the Foundation, through the generous donations of its members and corporate partners, has helped plant 100 million trees in America’s public forests

2001: The Arbor Day Foundation encourages people to vote for America’s National Tree. With more than 400,000 Americans voting, the winner was the oak tree

2006: Enterprise Rent-A-Car celebrates its 50th anniversary by teaming up with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant 1 million trees in the U.S., Canada, and Europe each year for the next 50 years. Enterprise’s 50-million-tree pledge is the largest ever made to the Foundation.

Read more highlights of the past 150 years here:  arbor-day-foundation-timeline-09-20.pdf (arborday.org)

10 of 150 recommended ways to celebrate trees on Arbor Day without hiking

1. Take a “what kind of tree” are you quiz.
2. Look up your neighborhood’s Tree Equity Score.
3. Find out if you live in a Tree City USA community.
4. Admire the trees in a national park on a Google Earth virtual tour. 
5. Play a tree related board game. Here is a list of a few. 
6. Tell tree-related jokes – (here’s a list to get you started).
7. Use the Arbor Day Facebook profile frame. 
8. Get to know your community trees a bit better with theTree ID with Pete series. 
9. Learn why leaves change colors.
10. Explore how water travels through trees.