The Center for Student Leadership and Involvement (CSLI) invited students and faculty to plant trees on campus to celebrate Arbor Day and Earth Day on April 26.
The green-thumbed volunteers planted 125 holly trees all over campus from the Cherry Road entrance to the Campus Center and the Woodlands and Academic Village Residence Halls. Some species of holly are declining according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.
Arborist Joseph Colella from Bartlett Tree Experts showed students how to dig holes deep enough for the holly trees and then helped them spread mulch and water the saplings. Mulching conserves water and protects against the spread of weeds and soil erosion.
This spring 125 seedlings are tiny. Holly trees take more than a decade to mature. It will be fun to come back to check up on the growth of the healthy holly trees.
Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday of April. Arbor Day began in 1872 when J. Sterling Morton proposed a special day every year to plant trees to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture. More than one million trees were planted on the first Arbor Day in Nebraska.
The first Earth Day took place in April 1970. “Twenty million Americans demonstrated in different U.S. cities” to raise awareness of environmental issues. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day, was a leading figure in the fight to raise ecological awareness. The recognition of Earth Day led to the passage of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the authorization of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Fun Fact: Earth Day 2024 was themed Planet Vs. Plastics, hoping to reduce plastic production for a plastic-free environment for future generations.
