The University of Nebraska–Lincoln will observe Arbor Day with tree plantings April 26 and 27 on City and East campuses, respectively. Both are open to the public.

Landscape Services will first plant a Green Mountain sugar maple immediately south of Love Library at 11 a.m. April 26. Speakers will include Eileen Bergt, landscape architect with Landscape Services; Mike Zeleny, vice chancellor for Business and Finance; and Logan Donahoo, Arbor Day Foundation.

A Dakota Pinnacle birch will be planted in the birch/aspen area within Maxwell Arboretum at 1 p.m. April 27. The area is on the west side of the College of Dentistry parking lot. Speakers will include Bergt; Ron Yoder, senior associate vice chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources; John Erixson, Nebraska Forest Service; and Ted Hartung, Friends of the Maxwell Arboretum.

Both plantings are free and open to the public. All participants will have an opportunity to shovel soil to cover tree roots.

Arbor Day in Nebraska is celebrated on the last Friday of April — which is April 28 this year. Arbor Day originated in Nebraska and was officially proclaimed in 1874 by Governor Robert Furnas and became a legal state holiday in Nebraska in 1885. Arbor Day is celebrated in all 50 states.

“Whenever I walk past a tree that was planted for Arbor Day, I always think, that was an Arbor Day tree and I helped plant it,” said Eileen Bergt, landscape architect with Landscape Services.

The university has a long-standing dedication to preserving and expanding its tree population. In 2008, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln was one of the first nine universities to earn a Tree Campus USA designation, an honor it has maintained for 14 years. Learn more about the university’s robust tree management program.