This weekend, the Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay, Nassau County will host its annual Arbor Day Festival. The festival celebrates the importance of trees in our environment. The event will take place on Saturday and Sunday April 26 and 27. Admission is $30 per car and attendees are encouraged to register ahead of time HERE.

The event is hosted by the Planting Fields Foundation and New York State Parks and has a variety of activities indoors and outdoors for all ages:

Today, Arbor Day is a national holiday that began in 1872 in Nebraska. Julius Sterling Morton proposed the holiday to improve farming and environmental conditions in the Nebraska prairies. More than 1 million trees were planted to celebrate the first Arbor Day & the holiday took off from there. According to the Arbor Day Foundation:

Trees play a vital role in the safety of our communities and the well-being of our planet. They provide shade during the summer, reducing energy consumption and heat related illness in urban areas. When trees are planted in the right place and maintained by certified arborists, they protect our communities from storm surge, flooding, and even wind damage. And trees are even a way to increase property values! Most importantly, trees are an investment in the future, because they get bigger and better with age & many of the most beautiful trees take more than a human lifetime to reach their full potential.

The Annual Arbor Day Festival at Planting Fields in Oyster Bay serves as both a celebration and a reminder of the essential role that trees play in sustaining our planet. It highlights the benefits trees provide, including improved air quality, reduced carbon emissions, enhanced biodiversity, and prevention of soil erosion.