FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                    April 19, 2001

CARY, NC – Town of Cary Mayor Glen Lang has proclaimed Thursday, April 19, 2001 as Cary Arbor Day. The Town is asking citizens to make the day a time to reflect on the special role that trees play in our lives. Trees are an essential part of the earth’s ecosystems. They produce much of the earth’s oxygen, help reduce noise and air pollution, and prevent soil erosion. Trees provide homes and food for wildlife. Humans derive many valuable products and recreational benefits from trees. Trees provide shade and beautiful surroundings. The transpiration of water from the leaves of one large shade tree provides the same cooling effect as sixteen large room air conditioners. The more trees a city has, the cooler the city will be in summer. Homes with trees sell faster and at higher prices than homes without trees.

Shaub Dunkley, Horticultural Planner with the Town, explains that the idea of Arbor Day started in Nebraska as a state proclaimed date when citizens were urged to plant a number of trees. Being a natural prairie state, Nebraska has few trees unless people plant them. Because the state has cold and harsh winters, tree planting there is typically best done in the spring. Accordingly, Nebraska’s Arbor Day started and remains held in the spring.

The popularity of Arbor Day spread and eventually a great many states and cities all over the United States started proclaiming an Arbor Day. Most locations, including North Carolina and Cary, follow the tradition of holding Arbor Day in the spring. The occurrence of Arbor Day in the spring has unfortunately helped establish the idea that spring is the best time to plant trees in North Carolina when fall and winter are actually much better in states with milder winters.

Dunkley notes that some states have started celebrating Arbor Day in fall or winter in response to the planting time issue. Rather than doing this, Dunkley favors a different approach to the observing of Arbor Day. Dunkley explains that the modern Arbor Day has tended to become more of a general celebration of trees rather than a day focused on tree planting. "The positive response of people to the weather, tree leaf out and blooming, makes spring a great time psychologically to hold a celebration of trees," says Dunkley. Continuing he explains, "In Cary, instead of planting a ceremonial tree on Arbor Day, we plant a group of trees in the fall or winter and then on Arbor Day we revisit the trees to celebrate their awakening." If people want to do something physical with trees on Arbor Day, Dunkley adds, they can do some tree mulching or pruning which are both good spring tree care practices.

This year Cary is celebrating Arbor Day from 10:00 to 11:30AM on the campus of Oakgrove Elementary School. Last fall, town staff helped one of the school’s second grade classes plant thirty shade trees on the school grounds. On Arbor Day, students and Town staff will revisit the trees and celebrate them with a ceremony and refreshments that come from trees.

Dunkley urges the public to adopt the habit of planting trees during fall and winter. "The trees really do perform better the following summer," says Dunkley. "They began to grow faster and require much less watering during their first summer. In the Town’s landscape operations, we find that fall planted trees may need no watering at all the following summer."