With Earth Day celebrated annually on April 22 and community appreciation for our shared planet throughout the month of April, I was curious about another Earth-centric day: Arbor Day. Earth Day is perhaps the more well-known of the days, although it is the younger of the two. The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 after a Wisconsin senator proposed national rallies and protests to garner attention for harmful practices across the nation. The efforts called for more legislation to regulate our shared environment, leading to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and a slew of laws that urged for protecting natural resources. By 1990, Earth Day had a global reach with celebrations and calls for action across the planet. According to earthday.org, Earth Day is now the “largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national and local policy changes.” The rise of Earth Day, regulatory legislation, and attention to the natural world in the 1960s and 1970s is all part of second-wave environmentalism.
Arbor Day, on the other hand, was part of the first wave of environmentalism centered on conservation. The movement began in the late 1800s. As the United States and other countries faced industrialization at the end of the 19th century, an appreciation for nature and natural resources was taking hold. Nebraska had the first Arbor Day in 1872, with approximately 1 million trees planted in that state alone. Arbor Day continued to spread in the U.S., and the American Forestry Association tasked its chairman with sharing Arbor Day across the world.
Famously, President Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy was his role in the conservation movement now considered part of the first wave of environmentalism. Some of his time in office was spent creating many national parks and monuments. He saw the importance of protecting land for future generations.
On April 15, 1907, Roosevelt issued an “Arbor Day Proclamation to the School Children of the United States,” stating:
“It is well that you should celebrate your Arbor Day thoughtfully, for within your lifetimes the Nation’s need of trees will become serious. We of an older generation can get along with what we have, though with growing hardship; but in your full manhood and womanhood you will want what nature once so bountifully supplied and man so thoughtlessly destroyed.”
Arbor Day officially became recognized nationwide in 1970, but we can see that its history begins almost 100 years before then. Now National Arbor Day is observed on the last Friday of April, and is usually celebrated by planting trees. Arbor Day’s early ideals and legacy can still be felt in Moscow today.
Moscow’s parks and their history follow this larger, national trend which mirrored these environmental movements and the roots of Arbor Day. The city’s first two parks werethe Moscow City Park (now East City Park) and Ghormley Park, established in the early 1900s. Moscow City Park was created when nine property-owners donated land for use as a future park in 1882. The trees for the park were donated by F.E. Mix, with the rest of the park’s plants donated by community members. The city of Moscow created a park commission dedicated to the maintenance and care of all parks and public spaces, including the Moscow City Park in 1904. East City Park continues to be a treasured space in Moscow with its large trees and central location, perfect for outdoor recreation. Historically the park was considered the perfect gathering space for events like the May Day parade, and continues to host events like the Renaissance Fair and rallies. The park wouldn’t be the same without the foresight of residents dedicated to creating shared outdoor spaces and the ideals perpetuated by Arbor Day.
Most of Moscow’s other parks and outdoor spaces were established later during the second wave of environmentalism in the 1960s and 70s, reflecting the larger trend of recognizing the value of shared green spaces in urban environments and linking it to resident well-being. Another effect was the creation of the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA Program, established in 1976. Moscow has officially been a “Tree City” in that program for 29 years. An additional legacy is the city of Moscow’s Tree Commission, whose purpose is to plan and maintain a community forestry program. These entities demonstrate that the importance of Arbor Day can still be felt today, even if Earth Day’s popularity has overshadowed it.
Noble is the executive director for the Latah County Historical Society. As a public historian Hayley enjoys researching and sharing local history with all who want to learn about our important and shared past.
