On April 30, the Nannen Arboretum Society, Inc. is hosting activities celebrating Arbor Day.  The event will be held on the Rotary Patio at the Town Center, 28 Parkside Drive, Ellicottville, beginning at 11 AM.  This year, the slate of events will be abbreviated to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines, but will be informative and fun for everyone.

There will be an Arbor Day Proclamation from the Village of Ellicottville, and recognition of our Tree City USA status.  The Village is the smallest community in New York State to hold the Tree City USA designation, and the Tree City USA flag will be presented.

Nebraska City, NE is the birthplace of Arbor Day here in the United States.  It was first celebrated in 1872.  An estimated one million trees were planted in Nebraska that day.

By the 1920’s, each state recognized a certain day to be their Arbor Day, and our National Arbor Day is celebrated every year on the last Friday in April.

On land that was donated in 1958, the Nannen Arboretum as initially designed by Bruce Robinson, a local forester, and John Ploetz, working for the Cornell Cooperative Extension.  The first trees were planted in 1976; the Arboretum is home to approximately 300 trees today.  As is customary, a new tree will be planted at the Nannen Arboretum at the Arbor Day celebration.

The mission of the Nannen Arboretum Society, Inc. is to raise awareness among our residents and visitors about the beauty, diversity and ecologic contribution of trees.  Various Trustees and volunteers will be on hand to present and discuss the accomplishments achieved at eh Arboretum in the past few years, with a look forward to what is in store for the near future.

It is the hope and desire of all those involved to encourage everyone in the community to visit our “hidden gem” on Arbor Day and every day.  Volunteers to preserve, protect and enhance the Nannen Arboretum are always welcome – no experience necessary!

 

For more information about how you can participate, please visit www.nannenarboretum.com, or Nannen Arboretum Society on Facebook.