Arbor Day Celebration & Events

The University of Massachusetts Amherst Arboretum Committee has announced several days of events throughout the remainder of April to celebrate the 151st anniversary of Arbor Day.

On Friday, April 21, the committee will be distributing seedlings from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Goodell Lawn. The seedlings were grown in the UMass nursery from local seeds, available seedlings will include species of birch, oak, hazelnut, chokeberry, holly, and willow as supplies last.

On Friday, April 28, the committee will celebrate Arbor Day with a tree walk on campus at 10 a.m. Participants should meet up at the southeast corner of South College. There will be a tree climbing demo at 11:30 a.m., at the conclusion of the tree tour. The planting of the Class of 2023 will be at 12 noonm, directly following the tree climbing demo. Both the climbing demo and planting of the class tree will take place at the northwest corner of campus center. There will also be a second giveaway of hybrid willow cuttings and propagation materials from 12 to 4 p.m. on the library deck.

According to the Arbor Day Foundation, the first Arbor Day was in Nebraska on April 10, 1872. It is estimated that 1 million trees were planted that day in Nebraska. In the next several years, many states passed legislation to recognize Arbor Day, and by 1920, 45 states and U.S. territories were celebrating Arbor Day.

To learn more about the trees on the UMass campus, view the virtual tour of the Frank A. Waugh Arboretum.