2 days Ago By CAROL BARANY Special to the Yakima Herald-Republic
The Yakima Area Arboretum, located in the heart of our city, is a vibrant swath of green offering visitors a connection to nearby nature since 1967. On April 12, the Arboretum will host its 24th ArborFest, a celebration of trees and Arbor Day in Yakima. The event is free.
Our community is bursting with pride. According to the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Yakima’s ArborFest attracts over 2,000 guests and over 25 organizations and has become one of the largest Arbor Day events west of the Mississippi. Arbor Day was originally proclaimed in 1872.
Pioneers moving into the forest-less plains of the Nebraska Territory missed the trees they left behind. Nebraska newspaper editor J. Sterling Morton, who eventually became Secretary of the Nebraska Territory, loved trees and encouraged residents and community organizations to plant more of them.
Under Morton’s leadership, prizes were offered to Nebraska Territory counties and individuals for the largest number of trees planted properly in a single day on April 10, 1872. Wildly successful, it’s estimated that one million trees were planted in Nebraska on that first Arbor Day. Today, Arbor Day has blossomed to a celebration in all 50 states and in communities around the globe.
The simple act of planting a tree represents hope that the tree will live and grow to provide clean air and water, cooling shade, habitat for wildlife, natural beauty and healthier communities. Because of a tree’s long life, the benefits gained from planting one today could well extend beyond our own lifetime into multiple future generations. The Yakima Arboretum’s ArborFest theme this year is "River of Life: Every Drop Matters!” The water cycle is the continuous loop of how every drop of water moves on Earth.
This year at ArborFest, visitors will discover how the water cycle affects them personally, from rainfall and weather patterns to the availability of clean water. The crucial connection between water and our gardens, forests, trees, crops, animals and our very lives, will be the focus. ArborFest will feature over 25 stations and displays, hosted by local, state and federal organizations.
Everyone is invited to participate in hands-on learning opportunities and crafts. Visuals and real life examples promise to make learning interactive, memorable and enjoyable. In addition, over 500 families will take home a tree sapling to plant in honor of Arbor Day.
When you go, make sure you visit the Yakima County Master Gardeners’ "River of Life: Every Drop Matters!” booth. Children will have the opportunity to be a drop of water moving continuously on, above or below the Cascade Mountains and the Yakima Valley. They will mark the impact their single drop of water makes on the water cycle by placing a sticker on a mural.
Another goal of the Master Gardener activity is to illustrate how yearly snowpack levels in the Cascades have a huge impact on water availability in the Yakima Valley. Exploring this aspect of the water cycle opens up the broader implications that climate change is making close to home. Events like ArborFest make environmental science fun to learn.
Magic happens when children catch the science ‘bug’ and from that spark a passion that lasts a lifetime. Nurture and encourage tomorrow’s caretakers of our environment by bringing them to the Arboretum on April 12. Please be kind to the earth by bringing your own reusable bag to carry home all of your crafts, handouts and other items you’re bound to collect at the festival.
If you have a gardening question and can’t get to one of our in-person clinics, you can submit your question via email at [email protected] . • Carol Barany and her husband, John, found paradise on 1 1/3 acres just west of Franklin Park, where they raised three children and became Master Gardeners.
Contact her at [email protected] ..
