GA Arbor Day: Pick Up A Tree In Paulding County

PAULDING COUNTY, GA — Arbor Day is coming up in Georgia, and Paulding County leaders are offering free tree seedlings to celebrate.

Arbor Day is a day to reflect on the importance of trees in Georgia and across the nation, according to Trees Atlanta. Georgia celebrates its Arbor Day on the third Friday each February, which in 2022 is this Friday, though National Arbor Day isn't until April.

The University of Georgia's Paulding County extension office is hosting a drive-thru event for residents to pick up tree seedlings for Arbor Day in our state.

On Friday from noon to 5 p.m., you can stop by the office at 530 W. Memorial Drive in Dallas and pick up a free bare-root native tree seedling (or two) and plant it for the nationally-recognized day.

Arbor Day first started in Nebraska in 1872, when newspaper editor and Nebraska City resident J. Sterling Morton — a tree-planting advocate and enthusiast — became secretary of the Nebraska Territory, according to the Arbor Day Foundation.

He proposed a tree-planting holiday at a meeting of the state Board of Agriculture, and the celebration date was set April 10, 1872. It was estimated that over 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska on that first Arbor Day, according to the foundation.

Former Nebraska Gov. Robert Furnas officially proclaimed Arbor Day in 1874, and other states started following suit. By 1920, more than 45 states and territories celebrated Arbor Day, and now all 50 states celebrate.

For more information, visit arborday.org or treesatlanta.org.