It's Arbor Day!

Hug a Tree—It’s Arbor Day!

Posted On: April 26, 2018

Never celebrated Arbor Day before? It’s time to turn over a new leaf!

Not only are trees worth celebrating, but spreading the word about their majestic looks and amazing abilities helps ensure our earth will always be covered with these natural beauties!

What is Arbor Day?

It’s all about the trees! Arbor Day is a special day set-aside to encourage care, conservation, and appreciation for the world’s trees, and, the planting of new ones.

In 1805, the local priest of a small Spanish village initiated a raucous festival that lasted three days—it was the world’s first official Arbor Day. Convinced of the numerous benefits trees provide (and rightly so!) he circulated a manifesto to neighboring villages encouraging love of nature and the regular planting of trees.

Jump to Nebraska City, April 10, 1872—America kicked off its first Arbor Day by planting nearly 1 million trees in the city. It wasn’t long before this tree-loving notion spread to Japan, Canada, Australia, and (back to) Europe. Now, dozens of countries celebrate Arbor Day.

Why You Should Heart Arbor Day

Trees aren’t merely decorative, they’re essential! Here are 5 great reasons you should celebrate what Arbor Day stands for and protect our earth’s trees and forests:

• Trees fight global warming . By absorbing pollutants and carbon dioxide—greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change—trees fight global warming. In Kansas City alone, trees remove 26,000 tons of air pollution a year!

• Trees help us survive . Native Americans aptly called trees the “life givers.” A single mature tree can provide enough oxygen to support two people for a day. (It should make you gasp then knowing 32 million acres of tropical forests are depleted each year, and 18 million acres of America’s forests.) Not only that, but forest watersheds provide clean, affordable drinking water to over 180 million Americans. 

• Trees sustain wildlife. Birds, insects, and mammals all survive directly or indirectly thanks to trees. The insects and crustaceans that live in trees not only act as a food source for birds and small mammals—which become the dinner of larger mammals—but help create nutrient-rich soil that can support new growth.

• Trees help conserve energy. When planted in the right spot, trees can drastically reduce air conditioning and heating requirements and help conserve energy. The residents of Cincinnati know—trees save them almost $5 million a year in cooling costs. 

• Trees beautify—and calm. There are around 100 million species of trees, all with their own beauty—and a special ability to calm us. Studies have shown that walking among trees reduces stress and brain fatigue, lowers blood pressure, accelerates illness and surgery recovery, and even helps children with ADHD improve their ability to focus. Not only that, but they help fight crime too—in Chicago, low-income apartment buildings located near trees had 56% fewer violent crimes than their nearby tree-less counterparts.

Go Paperless for Arbor Day

Now it’s your turn to take part! One easy way to celebrate Arbor Day is to go paperless!

Stream offers a paperless billing option. It’s a convenient way to stay organized and impact the environment. Instead of receiving a paper bill in the mail, we’ll email you when your invoice is ready.

Going paperless has a bigger impact than you might think! According to PayitGreen.org, if 20 percent of American households switched from paper to electronic bills, we would:

• Save 150 million pounds of paper
• Reduce waste water by 1.6 billion gallons
• Use 542 million pounds less wood
• Save 15 million gallons of gas to mail payments

It’s fast and easy—just log into your My Stream Account on MyStream.com and sign up!

There are plenty more ways you can celebrate Arbor Day! Start a new tradition today that helps conserve our trees every day!