Cal Poly Update | April 2007

Arbor Day is Coming -- Do You Know Where the Big Trees Are?

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Are you wondering about Arbor Day and looking for the latest information on trees? Cal Poly's College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences can help. Read on for the answers.

What is Arbor Day? A national day of tree-planting and celebration of all things arboreal. The first Arbor Day took place on April 10, 1872 in Nebraska. Julius Sterling Morton (1832-1902), a Nebraska journalist and politician, proposed that a special day be set aside dedicated for tree planting and increasing awareness of the importance of trees. By 1884, the idea had spread to all 50 states, which now celebrate Arbor Day each spring on different days. In 1970, President Richard Nixon proclaimed the last Friday in April as National Arbor Day.

When is Arbor Day in California? March 7-10
Tree Trivia: What's the Official California State Tree? The Redwood
When is National Arbor Day 2007? April 27

Handy Tree & Forestry links on the Cal Poly Web site:
Urban Forestry Ecosystems Institute (UFEI): http://www.ufei.calpoly.edu/

California Registry of Big Trees: http://www.ufei.org/Bigtrees/index.html
Listing & photos for the largest specimen of each native and naturalized tree species growing in California - list maintained by the Cal Poly UFEI.

ForesTree: http://www.ufei.org/ForesTree/index.lasso
A homeowners' guide to California trees, tree care and health.

Cal Poly Arbor Day: CAFES hosted a full-grown olive tree planting at Cal Poly's Environmental Horticultural Science Unit and the Poly Plant Shop on campus March 7. VallyCrest donated three 15-foot trees in 4-foot-high crates, which students planted after they were hoisted into place by cranes.

Arbor Day Any Day: The Cal Poly Leaning Pine Arboretum is open to the public and free, and offers mature groves of native California and Mediterranean trees. Visit the arboretum Web site at http://www.leaningpinearboretum.calpoly.edu/index.htm.

Directions to EHS Unit, Poly Plant Shop, Leaning Pine Arboretum:
Take Highway 1 to Cal Poly's Highland Drive entrance. Turn left on Via Carta; metered parking available in front of Poly Plant Shop.

Cal Poly Update is a newsletter for University friends and alumni and is prepared by the Cal Poly Public Affairs Office. Please share it with anyone you think may be interested in learning more about Cal Poly. However, if you wish to be excluded from e-mail sent from Cal Poly, please click here and follow the instructions. If you would like to update your alumni contact information, please click here.