HUNTERDON COUNTY, NJ – Commissioner Shaun C. Van Doren reported at the recent board meeting, that the Hunterdon County Shade Tree Commission and Hunterdon County Parks & Recreation, will be commemorating the 151st anniversary of Arbor Day on Friday, April 28, at Deer Path Park’s Cedars Pavilion at 10:00 a.m. The ceremony is open to the public.
Commissioner Van Doren, the Board’s Shade Tree Commission liaison, said, “Celebrating Arbor Day is a tradition which is quintessentially Hunterdon. Our county is known for its parks, trails and abundant flora and fauna. Planting trees protects the land and the wildlife that depends on a healthy ecosystem.”
Arbor Day was first recognized in 1872 by J. Sterling Morton who proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture that a special day be set aside for the planting of trees. That year, more than one million trees were planted in Nebraska to observe the holiday.
The Shade Tree Commission works with the Hunterdon County Department of Public Works to help maintain and enhance the trees within County Road rights-of-way, as well as providing advice to the Division of Parks and Recreation on trees within parklands. Every year a tree is planted in one of the many county owned facilities or park locations as part of the county’s Annual Arbor Day Event.
Director for Department of Public Works, Tom Matthews said, “Arbor Day is celebrated worldwide due to the benefits trees provide. Those benefits include the reduction of topsoil caused by wind and water, cut heating and cooling costs of homes, moderate the temperature, clean the air, and produce oxygen, and provide habitat for wildlife.”
“Trees provide nesting sites for small animals and birds and their seeds are a bountiful food source for the birds as well. We hope the community enjoys the beautiful trees throughout our county parks and open spaces,” Matthews said.
“Trees are a valuable and renewable resource which provides us with many of the materials that allow the comforts we enjoy in life. We urge all citizens to plant trees to gladden the heart and promote the well-being of this and future generations,” Van Doren said.
