Alaska’s first Arbor Day, remembered
Jeff Barnard, chair of the Juneau Urban Forestry Partnership and a biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, will be telling the story of Alaska’s first Arbor Day at a Juneau-Douglas City Museum’s Coffee & Collections program on Saturday, April 16, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. This is a free program, sponsored by Heritage Coffee Company and the Friends of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.
The first Alaska Arbor Day celebration took place in 1966, prompted by a fourth grade class from Kodiak, which discovered that Alaska was the only state without an official Arbor Day on the calendar. This led to the passage of SB 207, as well as to a ceremonial planting of a Jack Pine tree in memory of Governor Frank Heintzleman on the grounds of what is now the Museum but was then the Juneau Memorial Library. It was a fitting tribute to the governor, who had passed away only a year before, particularly because he began his career and his service to Alaska as a member of the U.S. Forest Service. At this Museum program, Jeff Barnard will discuss some of the groups and individuals who led the effort to build the library, explain why it was the site of the first Alaska Arbor Day, and describe the events surrounding the 1966 ceremony.
The April presentation is a lead-in to an event scheduled for May 16, commemorating the 50th anniversary Arbor Day in Alaska. The Juneau Urban Forestry Partnership and Juneau Garden Club will reenact the 1966 event at the original site, installing a new Hawthorne tree outside the Museum, replacing the former tree whose health was in decline. Local dignitaries will be present and the Arbor Day Proclamation will be read. Other public “tree events” are being planned for a variety of locations around town.
Established in 1998, the Juneau Urban Forestry Partnership is a nonprofit group formed to promote the value of trees in our community. They work towards this aim through education, by making information available about tree management and care, and by hands-on projects such as tree planting around town.
For more information regarding this event or about other programs and exhibits at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, please visit www.juneau.org/museum or call 586-3572. The museum’s current hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free during the month of April thanks to the generous donation of Michelle and Robert Storer.
