The Sweet Home Park and Tree Committee celebrated National Arbor Day in conjunction with the grand opening of the dog park at Northside Park.
The city has planted leyland cypress, lacebark elm and golden rain trees at the park since it opened at the beginning of the year.
Arbor Day began in 1872 in Nebraska and President Richard Nixon made it a national holiday in the 1970s. Of all the national holidays in the U.S., Arbor Day is the only one that looks to the future, committee member Wally Shreves said.
“What we do to plant these trees is for future generations,” he said.
Shreves presented facts about trees, such as their renewable nature, their work cleaning the air, moderating temperatures, providing habitat for wildlife, preventing erosion and supplying wood products for humans, and that one tree supplies enough oxygen for 420 people.
“Trees, wherever they’re planted, are a source of joy and spiritual renewal,” Shreves said.
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