By Julia Kast
It’s almost “Arbor Month”! Time to start planning your celebrations and working on your proclamations. Last year, over 100 amazing Arbor Day events took place throughout Washington – each community had their own spin on what makes their celebration special. Check out a handful of highlights from last year’s celebrations that might inspire your next event and some tips for meeting recognition program standards.
Stronger Together: Bring in Community Partners
One way to grow your Arbor Day event is to partner with other public entities in your area. One great example is, Fircrest. Fircrest is one of Washington’s newer Tree City USA communities, recognized for the first time in 2022. Each year they host “Fir Fest” (A+ for the creative event name!) in partnership with Fircrest Parks and Recreation, Tacoma Tree Foundation, Pierce Conservation District and Pierce County Parks host an impressive event. Check out their 2023 event flyer here.
Another great example of local partnership is in the Tri-Cities area. Last year Brian Cramer, a utility tree coordinator with Benton Public Utilities District, teamed up with the City of Kennewick and the Mid-Columbia Forestry Council to provide education and assistance on proper tree planting and maintenance and teamed up with a local 7th grader to help support their initiative to plant more trees!
Fun for Everyone: Interactive Activities
One key to increasing the number of community members attending your event is having activities suitable for all ages. The City of Kirkland’s “Kirkland Forest Day” impressed the community with their array of activities. The day started with guided activities including a ceremonial tree planting, restoration project, tree giveaway in partnership with King Conservation District and a workshop for creating sustainable landscaping and a water-wise oasis led by a certified arborist. The afternoon was full of self-led activities including a kids scavenger hunt, educational booths (including “Ask the Arborist” led by DNR UCF’s Em Roberts) and a food truck!
At DNR one of our past interns created an Arbor Day coloring book for communities and families to use while celebrating Arbor Day. Request a copy or download the coloring book here.
Tree Giveaways
Many communities provide tree giveaways around Arbor Day for planting on private property. Tree giveaways can be a great way to engage with your community members, increase canopy cover and an opportunity to share knowledge on your urban forest.
Check out the City of Vancouver’s Yard Tree Giveaway Program webpage for ideas on wrap around support for care instructions, informational “TreeTalks”, free planting and their delivery program for people with limited mobility.
To increase the likelihood of tree survival and picking an appropriate site to plant, be sure to include information and resources to everyone. These links have resources that can be included in your giveaway:
- Call 8-1-1 Before You Dig
- Planting and Care Instructions
- Right Tree Right Place
- How to find an Arborist
Social Media & Event Marketing
Don’t forget to market your event! Try out Arbor Day Foundation’s newly launched “A Tree Can Be Toolkit” – this is a customizable marketing toolkit in English and Spanish that speaks to the power of trees through yard signs, door hangers, flyers, talking points and social media ideas. This toolkit is a great way to get started on your event messaging and social media posting prior to your event and throughout the year.
Don’t forget to add your Arbor Day event on the Arbor Day Foundations “Celebrate” site. The events can be narrowed down by state and “event type” including plantings, distribution, general celebration, etc. Join communities like Spokane, Normandy Park and White Salmon who already have events listed for next month.
Recognition Program Requirement Reminder
EVERYONE: Don’t forget to get evidence of your event. This can be photos, news articles, flyers, etc.
Tree City USA: Arbor Day proclamation and hold an event/observance- don’t forget to collaborate with your tree board.
Tree Line USA: Arbor Day events are sponsored by or participated in by the utility. We encourage you to collaborate with other urban forestry advocates like municipalities, schools, and community groups. April is a great time to start accomplishing standard 3 and 5 for your application.
Tree Campus Higher Education: Host an event on your campus or in conjunction with the community your campus is located. This can be a great opportunity to advertise for your required service-learning project.
Tree Campus K-12: Celebrate on your school grounds or in conjunction with another local organization- your celebration.
If you have any questions about Arbor Day celebrations, Arbor Day Foundation recognition programs or more, please contact Julia Kast at Julia.Kast@dnr.wa.gov
Urban and community Forestry in Washington State 