Scott Phillips, co-host of The American Woodshop on PBS, gives National Arbor Day tips from his home in Piqua, Ohio.
“This Arbor Day honor a friend – plant some trees,” Scott Phillips, co-host of The American Woodshop on PBS, shares in his 2018 National Arbor Day video. To hear his message, click here https://youtu.be/KxyCKBdS1fA.
Woodcraft joins Scott to encourage Americans to plant trees and also to take time to learn more about how trees benefit the environment as they observe National Arbor Day on Friday, April 27.
Trees purify the air, support wildlife, filter water, fight climate change, tame storm water, provide natural beauty and recreational opportunities, and much more. Visit www.arborday.org/trees/treefacts/ to learn all the benefit that trees provide.
Nearly a century and a half ago, J. Sterling Morton, editor of the first newspaper in Nebraska – then a treeless plain – convinced the Nebraska Board of Agriculture to accept his resolution to set aside a day to plant trees “both forest and fruit” and set the date for April 10,1872.
Today National Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April. All 50 states, Puerto Rico and some U.S. Territories have passed laws adopting Arbor Day, which is celebrated on a date appropriate for tree planting in their region.
RESOURCES FOR TREE PLANTING
To learn more about planting trees, the Arbor Day Foundation and local Soil Conservation District Offices are good resources.
Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has grown to be the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with over one million members, supporters, and valued partners.
The foundation promotes tree planting through several conservation and education programs, offers extensive information about selecting and planting trees, and provides suggestions for individuals, communities and businesses to celebrate National Arbor Day.
To locate a local Soil Conservation District, visit the National Association of Conservation Districts’ website, http://www.nacdnet.org. Click on Resources in the top menu, and then the Conservation District Directory.
Across the United States, nearly 3,000 conservation districts—almost one in every county—work directly with landowners to conserve and promote healthy soils, water, forests, and wildlife. NACD represents these districts and the more than 17,000 citizens who serve on conservation district governing boards.
Conservation districts may go by different names—”soil and water conservation districts,” “resource conservation districts,” “natural resource districts,” and “land conservation committees,” but they all share a single mission: to coordinate assistance from all available sources – public and private, local, state, and federal – to develop locally-driven solutions to natural resources concerns.
MATCH TREES WITH NURTURING HABITATS
One of Scott’s tips for successful tree planting is to match the tree to its future home environment. Search for hardiness zones and complementary trees at www.arborday.org or check the website or visit the office of a local Soil Conservation District.
“If you want to get involved locally, and you don’t have a place to plant trees, volunteer at your county Soil and Water Conservation District office,” Scott suggests in his video.
For more ideas on successful tree planting and growth, check out Scott's other video: “Tree Planting Tips with Scott Phillips.”
In addition to co-hosting The American Woodshop with his wife Suzy, Scott has a full-time woodworking enterprise that is founded around his Michigan State degree in forestry. Scott is also actively involved in habitat reforestation and riparian restoration projects. Find out more about Scott and Suzy at www.wbgu.org/americanwoodshop.
It seems fitting to end this blog with one of the most famous poems written about a tree.
Trees
By Joyce Kilmer
(1886 - 1918)
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
