CONNECTICUT, USA — The state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection joined communities across Connecticut on Friday to celebrate Arbor Day.
The tradition of celebrating Arbor Day was launched in 1872 when J. Sterling Morgan proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture that a special day be set aside for the planting of trees. The holiday was first observed with the planting of more than one million trees in Nebraska; today it is celebrated all over the world.
According to the Arbor Day Foundation, the day is for people to unite in “recognition of the wonders of trees,” as communities, schools, businesses, and individuals plant commemorative trees, hand out free trees, provide education on tree planting and care and celebrate the benefits trees provide.
National Arbor Day is always celebrated on the final Friday of April, although some states observe it on different days that are better suited to planting trees in their areas.
In a release, DEEP said different events took place all over the state on Friday to celebrate Arbor Day, ranging in location from Stratford to Groton to the UConn Storrs campus. Many of the communities that celebrated did so as part of the Tree City Program through the Arbor Day Foundation.
The national program recognizes cities across the country for their dedication to growing, protecting and maintaining their urban and community forests, DEEP said, adding that Connecticut has 19 Tree Cities, four Tree Campuses, and four Tree Growth Awards for 2023.
Fairfield and Stamford have been Tree Cities for 36 years and are tied for first place as the longest-standing cities in the state with the distinction, DEEP said.
DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said that trees are a significant part of the ecosystem and play a critical role in cleaning air and water and providing wildlife habitats.
“Trees are also critically important in our fight against climate change, as healthy trees pull carbon out of our atmosphere, help to slow down storm surge and flooding, and can also help to cool our urban communities by up to 10 degrees,” Dykes said, in the release.
Dykes noted that ensuring equitable tree cover across Connecticut is a priority of Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration. She said DEEP’s Urban and Community Forestry Program has been working hard to administer tree-planting grants to help Connecticut communities improve their tree cover.
According to DEEP, Connecticut is the 14th most forested state in the United States and has the highest urban forest cover in the country. The release said trees provide key benefits to state residents, including heat and pollution mitigation, increased stormwater absorption, and carbon storage.
DEEP recently completed an application period for $2 million that will be awarded through 2028 through the Urban Forest Equity Grant program, which is funded by the federal Inflation Reduction Act and administered by the U.S. Forest Service. It was made available to state and local governments, federally recognized tribes, and nonprofit organizations and attracted nearly $4 million in urban forestry project requests in the first round, DEEP said.
DEEP’s Urban and Community Forestry Program helps communities to grow, maintain, and improve upon their urban and community forests to increase access to trees and the benefits they provide, according to the release.
Between 2021 and 2023, DEEP sub-awarded $585,000 to municipalities and nonprofit organizations groups across the state through a partnership with the CT Urban Forest Council and UConn.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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