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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A number of southwest Missouri events are planned in April to celebrate Missouri Arbor Day (always the first Friday of April) which is April 6, and National Arbor Day (always the last Friday of April) on April 27.
Arbor Day, which was first held in 1874 and was the creation of Nebraska newspaper editor J. Sterling Morton, is an annual event designed to raise people’s awareness of the importance of trees. It’s hoped, through this awareness, trees will continue to be a viable component of the landscape for years to come. As part of Missouri’s Arbor Day events, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is involved with tree-planting events throughout the state in April.
Here are tree-themed events scheduled in southwest Missouri that MDC is participating in:
- April 4: 1:30 p.m. in Marshfield, the City of Marshfield will be recognized as a Tree City USA at Shook Elementary School, 180 State Highway DD.
- April 4: 4 p.m. in Springfield, Springfield Rotary will be recognized for its tree-planting efforts at Mediacom Ice Park, 635 E. Trafficway St.
- April 6: 10 a.m. in Branson, the City Branson will be recognized as a Tree City USA at Alexander Park, 901 Hawthorn St.
- April 6: 2 p.m. in Carthage, the City of Carthage will be recognized as a Tree City USA at Mark Twain Elementary School, 1435 S. Main St.
- April 6: 4 p.m. in Willard, the City of Willard will be recognized as a Tree City USA at Jackson Street Park, 222 W. Jackson St.
- April 19: 2 p.m. on April 19, the City of Ash Grove will be recognized as a Tree City USA at Ash Grove City Park, 300 W. Parkway St.
- April 21: 9 a.m. in Exeter, the City of Exeter will be recognized as a Tree City USA at City Park.
- April 21: 10 a.m. in Marionville, the City of Marionville will be recognized as a Tree City USA at Marionville City Park.
- April 25: 1 p.m. in Springfield, Drury University will be recognized as a Tree Campus USA on the Drury campus
- April 27: 2 p.m. in Pineville, the City of Pineville will receive it’s first-ever Tree City USA designation at the Community Center (201 Jesse James Road).
- April 27: 7 p.m. in Springfield, the City of Springfield will be recognized as a Tree City USA and City Utilities of Springfield will receive Tree Line USA recognition at the Amphitheater Botanical Center at Nathaniel Greene Park, 2400 S. Scenic Ave.
- April 27: Noon in Lebanon, the City of Lebanon will be recognized for its tree-planting efforts at Boswell Park, 51 Drury Lane.
- April 28: 11 a.m. in Joplin, the City of Joplin will be recognized as a Tree City USA and Empire Electric will receive Tree Line USA recognition at Empire Market (931 E. 4th Street).
- April 28: 10 a.m. in Forsyth, the City of Forsyth will be recognized for its tree-planting efforts at the Taney County Extension Center, 122 Felkins Ave.
- May 18: 9 a.m. in Ozark, the City of Ozark will receive Tree City USA recognition at the OC Center, 1530 W. Jackson St.
In addition to these events, there will be Arbor Day Poster Contest tree planting events at these Springfield Public Schools
- April 5: 12:45 p.m. – St. Agnes Elementary, 531 S. Jefferson Ave.
- April 6: 10:30 a.m. – Sherwood Elementary, 2524 S. Golden Ave.; 12:30 p.m. – Disney Elementary, 4100 S. Fremont Ave.; 2 p.m. – Mark Twain Elementary, 2352 S. Weaver Ave.
- April 13: 10:30 a.m. – Field Elementary, 2120 E. Barataria St.; 12:30 p.m. – Pershing Elementary, 2120 S. Ventura Ave.; 2 p.m. – Holland Elementary School, 2403 S. Holland Ave.
- April 20: 10:30 a.m. – Greenwood Laboratory School, 1024 E. Harrison St.
- April 27: 9:30 a.m. – Hickory Hills Elementary, 4650 E. Division St.; 2 p.m. – Fremont Elementary, 2814 N. Fremont Ave.
For more information about any of these events, contact Missouri Department of Conservation Community Forester Cindy Garner at 417-895-6881, ext. 1632 or at Cindy.Garner@mdc.mo.gov. Information about the benefits of trees can be found at mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/trees-work.
