Morton Arboretum takes Arbor Day tree awareness campaign to Chicago
Trees in urban areas need people to thrive, just as they need water and sunlight. To bring attention to the actions Chicago-area residents can take in their daily lives to care for trees, the Morton Arboretum in Lisle is taking part in two Arbor Day events in Chicago.
The arboretum will host the first Arbor Day Pop-Up Celebration Friday, April 24, in Millennium Park at Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue. From 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Chicagoans will be invited to choose their favorite types of trees and share them on a giant, 20-by-8-foot board set up in Wrigley Square in Millennium Park.
Arboretum staff will be on-hand to share facts about the trees that make the Chicago area so beautiful, and visitors can pick their favorites by pinning a green ribbon to their selected trees.
Not only will this daylong event shed a light on the trees that surround us, it also will be an opportunity to learn about the many different species of trees that thrive in Chicago. Staff and volunteers with the arboretum's Plant Clinic will be on-hand throughout the day to answer tree- and plant-related questions and concerns.
The Morton Arboretum's Plant Clinic is a free resource that provides guidance and recommendations to homeowners, gardeners and others on topics such as tree and plant selection and identification, as well as information on invasive diseases or pests.
For the Arbor Day Tree Tag Campaign: "Trees Need You" Monday, April 20, to Monday, May 4, arboretum volunteers are working in partnership with the city and other organizations to hang brightly colored tags from nearly 2,000 of the city's trees.
A series of five tags highlight what we can do to help trees thrive in our cities and suburbs. Tags will remain up through Monday, May 4.
"Chicago is home to more than 150 species of trees that make our city beautiful, clean the air we breathe and keep us cooler in the warm months, but the trees that grow in our cities need champions to thrive," said Lydia Scott, director of the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, a coalition spearheaded by the Morton Arboretum and established to develop and implement a strategy that builds a healthier and more diverse urban forest by 2040.
"Through our Arbor Day Pop-Up Celebration and Tree Tag campaign, we're encouraging people to take a closer look at the trees that surround us and learn what each of us can do to ensure our city and suburbs are green for years to come."
The Morton Arboretum, with its mission to plant and save trees, has a unique connection to Arbor Day. To encourage the planting of trees, the first Arbor Day was organized in tree-barren Nebraska in 1872 by Secretary of Agriculture J. Sterling Morton, father of Joy Morton, who later founded Morton Arboretum.
The Morton family motto was "Plant Trees," inspired Joy Morton, president of the Morton Salt Company in Chicago, to carry on that legacy at his estate in West suburban Lisle, where he established an arboretum in 1922.
Today, all 50 states and many countries around the world recognize Arbor Day in honor of trees and their value. Arbor Day in Illinois is the last Friday in April, but other states observe Arbor Day on different dates according to their best tree-planting times.