In celebration of 150 years of Arbor Day and 50 years of Nebraska Natural Resources Districts, Nebraska City Tourism
& Commerce has partnered with various NRDs throughout the state to gift a tree to every county over the course of
the next year.
“On the first Arbor Day in 1872, one million trees were planted across Nebraska,” said Tammy Partsch, Tourism &
Promotions Coordinator for Nebraska City Tourism & Commerce. “Those early citizens saw the value of the new tree
planting holiday and it’s time Nebraska City, as the home of Arbor Day Founder J. Sterling Morton, thanks them for
that.”
The partnership, called The Gift of Trees, includes the
A special ceremonial tree planting will also be at the Lower Niobrara NRD Headquarters in Butte at 10:30 a.m. on
October 28. That will be immediately followed by a planting at the Boyd County Courthouse next door. Another tree
will be planted at the Keya Paha County Courthouse in Springview at 1:30 p.m. that afternoon.
“The Lower Niobrara NRD is honored to be part of this project,” said Connie McCarthy, Programs Assistant for the
Lower Niobrara NRD. “We are a firm believer that the best time to plant a tree was yesterday. It will be fun to watch
these trees we plant today grow through the years like those trees that were planted on the first Arbor Day 150
years ago.”
Representatives from Nebraska City have been traveling Nebraska throughout this fall and will continue to do so
into next spring to continue this statewide tree planting project. They hope to reach all 93 counties by next fall.
The Gift of Trees project is also supported by the Friends of Arbor Lodge Foundation and Ellwanger’s Greenhouse &
Floral of Butte.
