UMass Arboretum Committee Plans Events to Celebrate 150th Anniversary of Arbor Day

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst Arboretum Committee has announced three days of events throughout the remainder of April to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day.

On Friday, April 15, the committee will be distributing seedlings from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Goodell Lawn. The seedlings were grown in the UMass nurseries from local seeds, many of which came from historic and champion trees living on campus like the black tupelo.

On Friday, April 22, the committee will celebrate the planting of the Class of 2022 tree at 12 p.m. on the east side of Curry Hicks. There will also be a second giveaway of seedlings from 12 to 4 p.m. on the Goodell Lawn.

Arbor Day events will wrap up on Friday, April 29, with a tree walk on campus from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Participants should meet up at the southeast corner of South College. There will be a tree climbing demonstration following the tree walk.

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, use the Campus Tree Finder.