Hampton’s Arbor Day, April 30, 9:30-10:30 AM, will find elementary school students and community members celebrating with tree planting, stories and songs they have written, and goodie bags to enjoy. The Selectmen will read a special proclamation honoring the event. This year’s Arbor Day is especially important because it launches a yearlong national celebration leading to 2022 Arbor Day, the 150th anniversary of the observation of the celebration.
Arbor Day actually began in Nebraska in 1872, when farmers moving west from forested areas of our country realized they needed trees on the open plains, for shade, for erosion control, and for beauty in the landscape. Nebraska was the first state to make Arbor Day an official holiday. While the date of celebration may vary, depending on climate, the sentiments are the same – to beautify the community and to make young people aware of the value of trees in the landscape.
The Recreation Commission, Conservation Commission, the Hampton Board of Education, the HES PTO, Big Y, and the electric utility Eversource have joined forces to provide trees to be planted and goodies to be shared. The community is invited to attend. This year’s ceremony represents a revival of a regular tradition in Hampton, commemorated in a 2018 column in the Hampton Gazette:
“Arbor Day was an important holiday at Hampton’s consolidated school (now Town Hall). Every class was responsible for some form of reverence – pictures and posters, stories and reports. Someone would recite Joyce Kilmer’s poem, and, of course, the ceremony would always culminate with the planting of one. These were important concepts to instill in children – how to plant a tree and how to take care of it, along with all the lessons as to why – the scientific reasons and the personal ones. Whether you celebrate at a ceremony in a school, or a public place like a park, or your own yard, there’s almost always room for another tree. And time for all the lessons that accompany the planting. Happy Arbor Day!”
For more information about Arbor Day and the Arbor Day Foundation headquarters at Arbor Day Farm, Nebraska City, Nebraska, see the website www.arborday.org. and the National Arbor Day Foundation page on Facebook. Or contact Bruce Spaman at