Veronika Wild

   New York with its magnificent Central Park designed by Frederick Olmsted and Calvert Vaux -NYC City Hall, New York Image by iphylglad from Pixabay   How it all began We all know that trees are the lungs of a city. They also keep their populations both happier and healthier. Recognising this the National Association of State Foresters and the USA Forest Service began the Tree Cities Program in 1976. Now operated by the Arbor Day Foundation which we spoke about previously, there are 3,400 Tree Cities in the USA . Becoming a US Tree City requires local authorities to meet four criteria: 1.        They must have a dedicated tree board or department 2.        They must have a community tree ordinance 3.        Must commit to spending at least $US 2 per person on trees         ( The per capita amount means that small cities are not disadvantaged, and chances are that cities      already spend that much on tree management). 4.        And must celebrate Arbor Day

      With spring in full swing many countries in the northern hemisphere   have been celebrating Arbor Day or are about to. Even in southerly regions it’s still a good time to start gathering seeds and begin propagating trees for spring. It's also a time for pruning and care and maintenance of existing trees. While the Spanish village of Mondonedo is believed to have had the first Arbor Day in 1594, things really got going in 1872 when Nebraskan newspaper editor J. Sterling – Morton created a competition which gave a prize to counties which planted the most trees. Over one million trees were planted on that day in his home state alone and the idea was progressively adopted by other countries as well. Some countries celebrate whole weeks. Korea for example has “Tree Loving Week,” India has a National Festival of Tree Planting, the UK has National Tree Week from November 27 – December 5, Japan has “Greening Week” and South Africa celebrates Arbor Week from September 1 -7. This ye