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Arbor Day is celebrating 150 years on April 29. Here’s some fun options for you and your family to celebrate trees near you throughout the year.

• Plant a Tree. Trees improve the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink. They beautify our streets and shade our children. Check out the How to Plant a Tree from A Container video for tips on how to plant trees properly.
• Identify the Trees Around You. Discover what trees are growing around you. Iowa’s 10 Most Common Urban Trees can help you identify trees in your yard or neighborhood and learn more about each kind of tree. 
• Go on a Tree Scavenger Hunt. Get outside and explore all things trees. Use the Tree Scavenger Hunt activity sheet to guide your adventure. 
• Craft a Tree. Add these tree-inspired crafts to your family or classroom activities. They are fun, easy and use everyday at-home items. 
• Read a Book About Trees. Visit your local library and ask for books about trees. Some great titles for young children include: If I Were a Tree by Andrea Zimmerman, Call Me Tree/ Llámame Árbol by Maya Christina Gonzalez, and The Busy Tree by Jennifer Ward. Older children might enjoy: Celebritrees by Margi Preus, The Forest Where Ashley Lives by Mark Vitosh, Kate, Who Tamed the Wind by Liz Garton Scanlon, The Tree in Me by Corinna Luyken. Adults might be interested in: Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard, The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, and Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness by Dr. Qing Li. 
• Select local lumber for your home improvement projects. Woodworkers, DIYers and homeowners can find the perfect wood for unique projects at Habitat for ReStores in Des Moines and Iowa City. The lumber is produced from local trees and processed by local sawmills. Learn more about how you can support wood recycling in your community on the DNR Urban Wood webpage.
• Attend an Arbor Day Event Near You. Communities across Iowa will be celebrating Arbor Day with various events including tree plantings, nature walks, and more! Tree City USA Communities across Iowa will host events as well. Find an Arbor Day event near you!

TREEmendous Tree Facts

Looking to expand your trivia knowledge? Check out these tree facts.

• On the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 several tree seeds orbited the earth along with astronauts. These trees were germinated upon return to Earth and planted across the U.S. A second generation American Sycamore Moon Tree is among the collection of historic trees at the Heritage Tree Museum in Storm Lake.
• Arbor Day has been regularly observed in Iowa since it was instituted in 1887. The City of Oelwein hosted a Arbor Day Festival in 1896 to help local school kids appreciate the beauty and value of trees by planting trees around their schools, along community streets and in public parks.
• The State Forest Nursery in Ames was established by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s. The nursery sells approximately 1 million seedlings each year, and 3-5 million seedlings are grown on-site at any given time. 
• Iowa has an estimated 2.85 million acres of forest land. One acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people.
• One oak tree can support over 500 different species of pollinators. The state tree of Iowa is the oak.
• Iowa is home to many trees that are surrounded by history and legend. The Council Oak towered nearly a hundred feet and was almost four feet in diameter at the base. This gnarled and ancient bur oak grew on the Missouri River bottom near the mouth of the Big Sioux River. It was more than 350 years old when it was struck by lightning. A marker and a replacement tree in a public recreation area mark the spot where the Council Oak once stood.