THEME RELATED STUFF

State Arbor Days (state trees in brackets)
Scouter Jim, Bountiful, UT

• Alabama  Last full week in February (Longleaf Pine)
• Alaska  Third Monday in May (Sitka Spruce)
• Arizona  Last Friday in April (Palo Verde)
• Arkansas  Third Monday in March ( Pine)
• California  March 7-14 (California Redwood)
• Colorado  Third Friday in April ( Blue Spruce)
• Connecticut  April 30 ( White Oak)
• Delaware  Last Friday in April ( American Holly)
• District of Columbia  Last Friday in April (Scarlet Oak)
• Florida  Third Friday in January ( Cabbage Palmetto)
• Georgia  Third Friday in February ( Live Oak)
• Hawaii  First Friday in November (Kukui)
• Idaho  Last Friday in April ( Western White Pine)
• Illinois  Last Friday in April ( White Oak)
• Indiana  Last Friday in April (Tulip Tree) (My personal favorite tree CD)
• Iowa  Last Friday in April (Oak)
• Kansas  Last Friday in March (Cottonwood)
• Kentucky  First Friday in April (Tulip Poplar)
• Louisiana  Third Friday in January (Bald Cypress)
• Maine  Third full week in May ( Eastern White Pine)
• Maryland  First Wednesday in April ( White Oak)
• Massachusetts  April 28-May 5 ( American Elm)
• Michigan  Last Friday in April ( Eastern White Pine)
• Minnesota  Last Friday in April (Red Pine)
• Mississippi  Second Friday in February ( Southern Magnolia)
• Missouri  First Friday in April ( Flowering Dogwood)
• Montana  Last Friday in April (Ponderosa Pine)
• Nebraska  Last Friday in April (Cottonwood)
• Nevada  Southern: February 28; Northern: April 23 (Singleleaf Pinyon)
• New Hampshire  Last Friday in April ( Paper Birch)
• New Jersey  Last Friday in April ( Northern Red Oak)
• New Mexico  Second Friday in March (Pinyon)
• New York  Last Friday in April ( Sugar Maple)
• North Carolina  First Friday following March 15 ( Pine)
• North Dakota  First Friday in May ( American Elm)
• Ohio  Last Friday in April (Ohio Buckeye)
• Oklahoma  Last full week in March (Eastern Redbud)
• Oregon  First full week in April (Douglas Fir)
• Pennsylvania  Last Friday in April (Eastern Hemlock)
• Rhode Island  Last Friday in April ( Red Maple)
• South Carolina  First Friday in December ( Cabbage Palmetto)
• South Dakota  Last Friday in April ( White Spruce)
• Tennessee  First Friday in March (Yellow Poplar)
• Texas  Last Friday in April (Pecan)
• Utah  Last Friday in April ( Blue Spruce)
• Vermont  First Friday in May ( Sugar Maple)
• Virginia  Second Friday in April ( Flowering Dogwood)
• Washington  Second Wednesday in April (Western Hemlock)
• West Virginia  Second Friday in April ( Sugar Maple)
• Wisconsin  Last Friday in April ( Sugar Maple)
• Wyoming  Last Monday in April (Cottonwood)

The Value of Trees to a Community
Scouter Jim, Bountiful, UT

The following are some statistics on just how important trees are in a community setting.

• "The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day."—U.S. Department of Agriculture
• "Landscaping can reduce air conditioning costs by up to 50 percent, by shading the windows and walls of a home." — American Public Power Association
• "If you plant a tree today on the west side of your home, in 5 years your energy bills should be 3% less. In 15 years the savings will be nearly 12%." —Dr. E. Greg McPherson, Center for Urban Forest Research
• "A mature tree can often have an appraised value of between $1,000 and $10,000." —Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers
• "In one study, 83% of realtors believe that mature trees have a "strong or moderate impact" on the salability of homes listed for under $150,000; on homes over $250,000, this perception increases to 98%." —Arbor National Mortgage & American Forests
• "Landscaping, especially with trees, can increase property values as much as 20 percent."—Management Information Services/ICMA
• "One acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people."—U.S. Department of Agriculture
• "There are about 60-to 200- million spaces along our city streets where trees could be planted. This translates to the potential to absorb 33 million more tons of CO2 every year, and saving $4 billion in energy costs."—National Wildlife Federation
• "Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30 percent and can save 20 - 50 percent in energy used for heating."—USDA Forest Service
• "Trees can be a stimulus to economic development, attracting new business and tourism. Commercial retail areas are more attractive to shoppers, apartments rent more quickly, tenants stay longer, and space in a wooded setting is more valuable to sell or rent."—The Arbor Day Foundation
• "Healthy, mature trees add an average of 10 percent to a property's value."—USDA Forest Service
• "The planting of trees means improved water quality, resulting in less runoff and erosion. This allows more recharging of the ground water supply. Wooded areas help prevent the transport of sediment and chemicals into streams."—USDA Forest Service
• "In laboratory research, visual exposure to settings with trees has produced significant recovery from stress within five minutes, as indicated by changes in blood pressure and muscle tension."—Dr. Roger S. Ulrich Texas A&M University
• "Nationally, the 60 million street trees have an average value of $525 per tree."—Management Information Services
• To help locate New York City's heritage trees, the City Department of Parks and Recreation conducted a program called the "Great Tree Search." New Yorkers looked for trees of unusual size and age, those linked with historic landmarks, and trees of unusual species or location. On Arbor Day, they held a big party to celebrate New York City's Great Trees.
• After a tornado destroyed more than 800 trees in Cardington, Ohio, citizens organized a tree restoration committee which solicited donations and memorials. Volunteers who learned of the tree planting through local newspaper articles appeared on Arbor Day to wrap trunks, water, mulch, and stake 40 large trees which were planted along major streets.

Did You Know?
Sam Houston Area Council

If a tree’s leaves look like needles it's a conifer. Most conifers are evergreen since they do not lose all their leaves at once. Pines, firs, cedars and spruces are conifers.

If a tree’s leaves are flat and broad they are broadleaf or deciduous. Broadleaf trees shed their leaves annually. They may bear flowers, fruit or nuts. Oaks, maples, birches and sycamores are broadleaf trees.

You can use fall leaf colors to help identify trees:

• Fall leaf color key:
• Oaks red or brown
• Hickories golden bronze
• Pecans yellow
• Maples red to orange

Look at the trees in your area.
What colors do their leaves turn?

Weather Wizardry
Sam Houston Area Council

Here are some amazing signs from trees to help you forecast the weather.

How fast is the wind blowing?
The leaves of a broadleaf can tell you.

• Leaves with slight movement – 1 to 4 mph
• Leaves and branches moving – 6 to 12 mph
• Entire tree moving – 12 to 18 mph
• Back of leaves seen on most of the tree – 20 – 35 mph
• Tree moving violently, back of leaves seen, some leaves being blown off – 40 to 45 mph

Leaves Of Three…Let It Be!
Sam Houston Area Council

• What’s the best way NOT to get poison ivy?
• By knowing what it looks like!

That’s not always easy.
Poison ivy can have shiny leaves or dull leaves.

It can grow close to the ground or up on trees and posts

Sometimes it has tiny white flowers.
Other time it has pale green berries.

But one thing about poison ivy never changes.
Its leaves always grow in groups of three.

Poison ivy leaves can have edges with teeth on them or leaves with smooth edges.

In the spring, poison ivy leaves are small and young.
In the summer the leaves get bigger and turn green.
In the fall, poison ivy leaves can turn yellow, red or orange.
In the winter, poison ivy loses its leaves but not its hair!

That’s how you can tell the stems of poison ivy in winter, they are brown and hairy and still poisonous!