On Monday it’ll be Alaska’s 50th Arbor Day, and a variety of events will be happening around Juneau to celebrate, such as the reenactment of Alaska’s first Arbor Day in Juneau.
The planning committee for Alaska’s 50-year anniversary celebration consists of four members coming from the Juneau Garden Club, the Juneau Urban Forestry Partnership and the Alaska Community Forestry Council. Nan Mundy, a member of all four organizations who is also a part of the planning committee spoke of the importance of Arbor Day.
“President Theodore Roosevelt said it best: ‘Most holidays remember the past; Arbor Day nurtures our future,’” she told the Empire. “Trees clean our air, provide oxygen, help us conserve energy, prevent water pollution and soil erosion, provide food, wood and habitat, and wildlife corridors in our city, and mask concrete walls, parking lots and unsightly views. But we must care for and manage our urban forest so it will continue to provide these benefits for generations to come.”
While Arbor Day has been recognized in different states since 1872, it wasn’t officially a holiday in Alaska until 1966. Alaska can thank a class of fourth-graders from Kodiak Elementary School for giving the push for the state to observe Arbor Day. They wrote Sen. Al Owen, D-Uganik Bay, asking him what could be done about Alaska not recognizing Arbor Day. He responded by sponsoring Senate Bill 207 during the fourth Alaska Legislature, which passed, finally giving Alaska its first Arbor Day. (In 1973, the law was amended to change the date of the first Arbor Day to be held on the third Monday in May for a better planting season in Alaska).
The Juneau Garden Club sent a letter of commendation for the children’s initiative, and with the cooperation of the Forest Service and Coast Guard, also sent an evergreen tree to each student of the fourth-grade class. In the capital at the Juneau Memorial Library, which is the current location of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, the Juneau Garden Club organized the first Arbor Day event. Then-Gov. William Egan participated by planting a pine tree on the property with a golden shovel, which has become the symbol of the 50th-year anniversary.
The reenactment of the historic occasion will happen at noon Monday, May 16 at the City Museum. Mundy told the Empire that the official Arbor Day celebration has been in the works over two years. While the tree that former Gov. Egan planted 50 years ago is no longer around, there is an old hawthorn tree at the City Museum which needs to be replaced with a disease-resistant one.
Jeff Barnard of the Juneau Urban Forestry Partnership said that the current hawthorn “is in declining health, and along with many of the downtown hawthorns, is susceptible to fire blight, which causes the leaves to drop in August or so.” The replacement hawthorn was recommended by Merrill Jensen from Jensen-Olson Arboretum as blight resistant. It may take a couple years to acclimate, Barnard said, but it should be as pretty as the old hawthorn in time.
Mundy said many people across Alaska were invited to attend the reenactment, such as the governor, state legislators, city officals and people involved with forestry, as well as others who were involved in the state’s first Arbor Day like the Coast Guard. Daisy Troop 4077 and Girl Scout Troop 4010 will assist with replacing the old hawthorn tree at the City Museum.
Mundy said the Alaska Community Forestry Program gave the council $5,000 to use for funding small grants across the state to organizations and nonprofits to celebrate Arbor Day and benefit trees. The Alaska Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects contributed $1,000. The Raven Homeschool program received a small grant for $189.95 to plant a tree at the Juneau Pioneer Home, another tree planting ceremony occurring in town.
Mundy gave suggestions of other ways people in town can celebrate, such as: plant a tree; visit your local library to find books about trees; write a story or poem about trees; plant, sculpt, draw or make a leaf or bark rubbing; explore a favorite tree’s size and shape, needles or leaves, type of bark, cones, buds and sap; find a coniferous (evergreen) and deciduous tree (loses its leaves in winter); invite friends to do a “tree walk” to find the oldest or tallest tree, or your favorite neighborhood tree; and if you are a tree expert or enthusiast, share your knowledge with others.
Arbor Day celebrations and events of 2016
Alaska’s Official Arbor Day 50th Anniversary Celebration, Monday, May 16, noon, outside the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. The Juneau Urban Forestry Partnership and Juneau Garden Club will reenact the 1966 event at the original site, installing a new hawthorn tree at the Museum. Boy Scout Troop 11 and Daisy Troop 4077 will assist. Gov. Walker, Sen. Egan from Juneau, Sen. Stevens from Kodiak and Juneau Mayor Koelsch are invited as guests. The emcee is Pete Griffin, former USFS District Ranger and renowned storyteller.
On Arbor Day Tree Planting at the Juneau Pioneer Home, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Monday, May 16. Raven Homeschool will be planting a Prairie Fire Crabapple at the Juneau Pioneer Home. Refreshments will be served.
Juneau’s Imagination Station Celebrates Arbor Day, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday, May 16, 174-A S. Franklin Street. Kids are invited to stop by for a fun Arbor Day activity.
Ornamental Trees for Southeast Alaska: Characteristics and what they need to thrive, 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 17, Gold Town Nickelodeon Theater. Presented by Chris Mertl, Certified Arborist, Corvus Design.
Ranges of Native Trees of Southeast Alaska—A Story of Expansion, 5 p.m., Thursday, May 19, Gold Town Nickelodeon Theater. Presented by Brian Buma, UAS, Assistant Professor of Forest Ecology.
• Contact Clara Miller at 523-2243 or at clara.miller@juneauempire.com.
The old hawthorn tree at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum can be seen by the totem pole. A stump is propping it up and rope ties it to the building.
