Once you’ve snapped the perfect photo, post it on your public Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter account with #ArborDayAtHome. Then, the Arbor Day Foundation will plant one tree for every post (up to 50,000 trees) through their Replanting Our Nation’s Forests program. The goal is to help replant forests in the U.S. that are currently recovering from wildfires, storms, and insect damage. Usually, communities unite on Arbor Day to plant trees and learn about conservation. Though social distancing guidelines have made that impossible this year, Arbor Day Foundation’s online tree-planting campaign is a way for those around the country to join together from home. The Foundation has already planted over 350 trees as part of the campaign, and more photos and hashtags are rolling in. If you’d rather celebrate the holiday by adding a new tree to your yard, the Arbor Day Foundation is still selling and shipping potted trees from their nursery (most of the trees are 1 to 4 feet tall when they ship, and prices vary by size, from $8 up to $55). You could add future spring flair to your yard by planting a flowering Yoshino cherry tree, Southern magnolia, or American redbud. Or order a popular evergreen, such as a Colorado blue spruce, or plant a fast-growing Northern red oak. If you’re not sure what to plant for your region, you can use the site’s Tree Wizard to get a recommendation for your yard. There are plenty of other safe ways to mark Arbor Day on April 24. Take a walk around your neighborhood or in a local park, spend some time working in your garden, or commit to making more environmentally-friendly choices like cutting down on single-use plastic and replacing plastic snack bags with homemade beeswax wraps. Arbor Day might look different this year, but helping the environment and planting trees is still easy. Your celebration can be as simple as taking a photo and sharing it online. Even if you just take a moment to think about how you can help the Earth on April 24, you’ll be honoring the spirit of Arbor Day.
