News

Trees Atlanta Celebrates Georgia Arbor Day with a Week of Events: February 13 – 19, 2023

Love Letters to Trees  |  Storytime  |  Jobs Open House  |  Tree Seedling Adoption  |  Speaker Series  |  Student Art Contest  | Volunteer Projects  |  What is Georgia Arbor Day?

Monday, Feb. 6

Atlanta City Council – Georgia Arbor Day 2023 Proclamation

Presentation at full City Council meeting, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023 at 1:00 PM in the Marvin S. Arrington, Sr. Council Chamber. Location: Atlanta City Hall – 55 Trinity Avenue, Atlanta GA 30303

Monday, Feb. 13 & Tuesday, Feb. 14

Love Letters to Trees

It’s no coincidence (in our humble opinion) that every year, St. Valentine’s Day falls within days of Georgia Arbor Day! 💚💚💚 How can anyone talk about LOVE and not talk about TREES? Not possible!

To kick off this year’s Celebration Week for Georgia Arbor Day, we invite you to write Love Letters to Trees.

• Pick a special tree. Perhaps it’s the oak that shades you on hot summer days or the pawpaw tree that you discovered creekside in a city park? Write a letter to the tree you planted for your child’s birthday. Scribe an ode to the 100-year-old tree on the corner near your house.
• Letters are accepted at any time. Take a photo, write a brief note, poem, confession, or any loving words you’d like to share, and submit your Love Letter to Trees. We’ll feature a few notes and photos on Monday & Tuesday. We’d love to see your entries!
• How to submit your letter. Entries are accepted online. Click here read Love Letters to Trees.

Monday, Feb. 13 & Wednesday, Feb. 15

Storytime at Two Libraries: Metropolitan Library & Wolf Creek Library

Meet us at two libraries this week to read This Tree Counts by author Alison Formento (from (10:30 – 11:30 am).

• Monday, 2/13 – Metropolitan Library in Southwest Atlanta
• Wednesday, 2/15 at Wolf Creek Library in South Fulton

If you listen closely, the lone tree behind Oak Lane School has a story to tell. It starts with one owl, two spiders, and goes all the way up to ten earthworms using the tree as their home! So what does this tree need?

This free event is ideal for children ages 3-5 years old. Learn about the importance of trees and count from one to ten in this tale about going green.

Thursday, Feb. 16

Urban Forestry Jobs at Trees Atlanta – Open House

• Location: Trees Atlanta Kendeda TreeHouse, 825 Warner Street SW
• Time: 10am – 1pm

Expanding job opportunities within our community is a priority for Trees Atlanta. As a conservation organization focused on protecting and improving Atlanta’s urban forest, we offer may pathways to get started or advancing careers in urban forestry and conservation nonprofit work.

Come onsite this day to learn more about our open positions in various roles. Several crew positions will be interviewing onsite this day. Walk up interviews will be accepted (for some roles), and we encourage you to apply in advance online! All open jobs are listed on our Career Opportunties page.

Have questions about jobs? Email: HR@treesatlanta.org

Thursday, Feb. 16 & Friday, Feb. 17

Tree Seedling Adoption

We love our annual tree seedling giveaway! Adopt our free bareroot seedlings and watch them grow!

Seedlings are an amazingly efficient way to plant a lot of new trees. Although tree seedlings require a little more care in the early stages (to protect it from being overlooked and crushed), they’re a great way to plant new trees. Tree seedlings are efficiently transported, super easy to plant, and with a little TLC from you, they grow fast and quickly grow to catch up in size to trees planted in larger sizes.

Species list will be posted.

Pick up free tree seedlings at the Trees Atlanta Kendeda TreeHouse, 825 Warner Street SW.

We’d love for you to see our new facilities on the Westside Trail of the Atlanta BeltLine. Our campus meets the Allene Avenue Access Point to the Westside Trail. We are located in the Oakland City neighborhood and across the street from the Adair Park neighborhood.

How to get here.

• Walk, cycle, or scoot: we are on the Atlanta BeltLine Westside Trai. Bicycle racks are located near the entrance.
• Public transit: we are approximately 1 mile from two MARTA Transit Stations: Oakland City Station and West End Stations.
• Car: Limited parking is available on site, consider carpooling whenever possible. Please be mindful of your surroundings and of our neighbors; park with courtesy on public streets.

Want a reminder emailed to you? Click on one of the dates below and submit your info!

Friday, Feb. 19

Speaker Series: The Trees of the Cherokee – Sources of Food, Medicine and Craft with Mark Warren

Mark Warren, owner of the nationally renowned Medicine Bow Wilderness School in Dahlonega, GA, shares his special perspectives on the importance of trees today and throughout time. He will be discussing how some of our most common native trees were used by the Cherokee people for food, medicine, insect repellent, crafts, shelter and fire. Mark will bring along some handmade crafts for viewing and discussion. Mark believes today’s society can — and should — learn some valuable lessons and skills from those native people who inhabited this continent hundreds of years before European colonizers landed on its shores.

Join us on Georgia Arbor Day 2023 for the very first Speaker Series event hosted in-person at our new facility at 825 Warner Street!

Friday, Feb. 19

2023 Georgia Arbor Day Student Art Contest Winners Announced

The 2023 Trees Atlanta Georgia Arbor Day Student Art Contest is a celebration of trees and creativity. Students can submit a work of art in the medium of their choice. This year, students are challenged with creating original artwork that reflects the participant’s interpretation of this theme: “Healthy Trees, Healthy Me!”

Georgia students in grades K-12 are eligible to submit arwork in three categories:

• Visual
• Writing
• Film/Video

Winners and their teachers will receive prizes. Read the contest details and submit student entries here. 

To view last year’s (2022) Student Art Contest winning entries, click here.

Georgia Arbor Day Volunteer Projects

Arbor Day was founded specifically to teach and encourage students to planting trees. Today, Arbor Day is celebrated across the country by community members of all ages!

This special day is an extra special day for community tree organizations like Trees Atlanta. We organize hundreds of projects each year working with thousands of volunteers every week, but there’s something magical about planting trees on Georgia Arbor Day!

Please come join us and volunteer at one of many planting and tree care projects across metro Atlanta.

Why is Arbor Day in February? Isn’t it in April?

National Arbor Day is celebrated in April.  What you may not know is that each state celebrates Arbor Day from January to May depending on the regional season for planting trees.

The State of Georgia celebrates its Arbor Day on the third Friday in February. 

It is a day to reflect on the importance of trees in our state and across our nation. Scientific research is increasing adding to the evidence that trees are essential to global environmental health. So go plant a tree, play outside, enjoy the beauty of trees, create art inspired by trees, or honor trees in any way that pleases you!

History of Arbor Day

Arbor is the Latin word for “tree”, and Arbor Day is a celebration of trees! “The History of Arbor Day“, as written by the Arbor Day Foundation says:

Arbor Day was officially proclaimed in 1874 by Nebraska’s Governor, Robert W. Furnas, and the day was observed April 10 that year. In 1885, Arbor Day was named a legal state holiday in Nebraska, and April 22 was selected as the date for its permanent annual observance.