John Parsons showed up with a wheelbarrow to Greenfield's annual Arbor Day tree seedling giveaway, hosted by Regreening Greenfield last weekend. He was hoping to plant about a dozen of the seedlings on his acre of land, which has hardly any trees. Christine Schaefer | Daily Reporter
John Parsons showed up with a wheelbarrow to Greenfield's annual Arbor Day tree seedling giveaway, hosted by Regreening Greenfield last weekend. He was hoping to plant about a dozen of the seedlings on his acre of land, which has hardly any trees. Christine Schaefer | Daily Reporter
Arbor Day at a glance
Today is National Arbor Day, a celebration of trees held in all 50 states. The designation dates back to 1872, when Nebraska newspaper editor J. Sterling Morton first proposed a tree-planting holiday to be called Arbor Day at a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture.

The first celebration was set for April 10, 1872, when prizes were offered to counties and individuals for the largest number of trees planted that day.

It was estimated that more than 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska that day.

In 1885, Arbor Day was named a legal state holiday there. By 1920, more than 45 states and territories were celebrating Arbor Day, as the tree planting tradition became prominent in schools across the nation.

The most common date for the state observance of Arbor Day is the last Friday in April, although some states choose times to coincide with the best tree planting weather, from January in the south to May in the far north.

For more information on Arbor Day or to learn how to best select, plant and nurture trees in your area, visit the Arbor Day Foundation at arborday.org.
GREENFIELD — Marciann McClarnon Miller was beaming when she saw the long line of people waiting to pick up free tree saplings on Courthouse Plaza last weekend in downtown Greenfield.

All 700 trees were quickly distributed at the city’s annual Arbor Day tree seedling giveaway, hosted each spring by Regreening Greenfield, a nonprofit focused on promoting the planting and nurturing of trees in town.

Miller founded Regreening Greenfield in 1988 for a student project while a teacher at Weston Elementary School. With her father as mayor, a Mayor’s Task Force was created and the project evolved into a non-profit.

Six years later Greenfield was designated as a Tree City USA, a prominent designation issued by the Arbor Day Foundation, which Greenfield has maintained each year.

Miller and other members of Regreening Greenfield hope the public uses today (April 30) — National Arbor Day — as a time to recognize and appreciate the city’s own urban forest, not only the trees in the parks and around people’s homes, but the hundreds of trees Regreening volunteers have helped plant along the curbs and right-of-ways throughout town.

Arbor Day is celebrated around the world as a special time to plant, nurture and celebrate trees.

There’s a lot to celebrate in Greenfield, according to Sally Parsons, president of Regreening Greenfield.

The nonprofit recently won a grant that allowed it to have internationally certified arborists from the Davey Resource Group come to town to do a formal inventory of the trees planted in the city’s right-of-way areas, like in medians or along curbs.

The grant included one year’s access to the Tree Tracking software online, which displays not only the number and location of trees, but also details each one, right down to the size, species and special circumstances, like a double trunk, for example.

The database can be used to track the growth of the city’s trees and monitor which ones need or receive maintenance, such as pruning.

All you need to do is tap on the app to see the specifics about any given tree, said Parsons, who loves having the detailed information easily accessible on her cellphone.

In the past, Parsons would walk the streets of Greenfield with a pen and paper, cataloging the city’s tree inventory by hand. The new method is a highly improved dream come true, she said.

Regreening members got access to the software after the inventory was completed last July.

Their one-year access is about to expire, so the group is looking to raise enough money to continue using the subscription-based software. The goal is to update the city’s tree inventory as it changes from year to year.

“You can put in work orders and track when things have been done, like when new trees are planted. It’s a really manageable, track-able program,” said Parsons.

In the past, she’d often pull off to the side of the road when driving to take notes about a tree she spotted along the way that needed attention. Now, she can quickly tap out notes into her phone and has it instantly appear in the database.

To have the initial tree inventory done, Regreening applied for and won a grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ Community and Urban Forestry Department in 2019.

That inventory was completed last summer, but Parsons estimates there are another 800 or so trees that still need to be cataloged.

“We just recently applied for a pop-up grant that will go towards finishing out the inventory,” she said.

More donations have come in from local supporters like NineStar Connect and the Hancock County Soil and Water District.

Parsons said Regreening Greenfield works closely with the city of Greenfield’s street, parks and power and light departments to plant and maintain the city’s trees.

“We couldn’t do it without the support of the city and the city council,” she said.

When Regreening received the latest tree inventory, members were also given a management plan along with the tree inventory to help plan for proper care of the trees. It also lists the environmental benefits of the city’s trees.

“It tells us how many gallons of stormwater is taken up, how many pounds of air pollution they’ve kept out of air, it addresses greenhouse gases and energy savings, all kinds of things,” said Parsons.

“People often think of trees as just something pretty to look at, but they’re so much more than that. They are so important to keeping our air clean and our stormwater from being in our basements. They are really an important part of our city’s infrastructure,” she said.

In fact, it’s the only type of infrastructure that appreciates, rather than depreciates, over time.

Parsons said Regreening maps out a seven-year maintenance plan for the city’s trees to keep them healthy. The new inventory and maintenance plan will help enhance this process.

“This management plan and software helps us make sure that each tree reaches its maximum potential value,” said Parsons.

Soon the public will be able to access a guest version of the tree inventory on the city of Greenfield’s website, where they can find what type of trees are planted at various locations throughout town.

The inventory is not only informational, but it helps Regreening track and plan which types of trees should be planted in which areas.

The city already has a lot of crabapple and maple trees, said Parsons, “but we need to boost the other types of trees we have. There’s a formula to how many types of species are desirable.”

Diversifying the types of trees planted helps protect the urban forest from being wiped out by invasive pests, like the ash borer and Asian longhorn beetle.

As far as what’s planted in the future, Parsons said the sky’s the limit.

“We have lots and lots of room for more trees,” she said. When the second round of inventory is done, it should show about 3,000 trees in Greenfield’s right-of-ways, “but we have the potential for about twice that,” said Parsons.

“Right now Greenfield has one tree for every 7.7 residents, and (experts) recommend four trees for every one resident, so we’ve got some planting to do.”

Daily Reporter staff member Christine Schaefer contributed to this story.
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