Arbor Day Observance and Proclamation
Welcome to Bend’s Arbor Month celebration, where we dedicate the entire month of April to honoring and planting trees in recognition of Arbor Day!
In Bend, the City Council issues a proclamation at the first Council Meeting in April to declare the entire month of April as Arbor Month. This decision is partly because of Bend’s unpredictable weather. Throughout April, Bend hosts various events to celebrate Arbor Day. Many of these events include planting trees on public property within the City.
Arbor Day History
The first Arbor Day in America was started by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska City, Nebraska. On April 10, 1872, about one million trees were planted in Nebraska. Arbor Day was officially proclaimed in 1874 by Nebraska’s Governor, Robert W. Furnas, and it became a legal state holiday in Nebraska in 1885. The date for Arbor Day in Nebraska was later set to April 22 to coincide with Morton’s birthday. This special day has grown over the years, and now many places, including Bend, celebrate it with various events.
In Oregon, the State Legislature has designated the first full week of April as Arbor Week. This gives groups more flexibility to celebrate Arbor Day. The City of Bend hosts tree-planting events and other activities throughout April.
Annual Arbor Month Celebrations
Expand the years below to see the events and celebrations held for our annual Arbor Month celebration.
In 2025, Arbor Day recognition is combined with the City’s celebration of Earth Day at the Environmental Center’s Earth Day Fair & Celebration. Additionally, the City partnered with Bend Park & Recreation District to host a Tree City booth at a local Wildfire Preparedness Fair, promoting tree and forest health as a fire mitigation tool.
Earth Day Fair
The City’s environmental stewardship and conservation efforts are highlighted by our Water Conservation programs, our wildfire prevention and education initiatives, and our Community Climate Action Plan, all of which benefit the trees! Trees contribute to our clear waterways, clean water sources, and lower carbon emissions, contributing to a healthier community. As the community focuses on wildfire prevention, tree health is a high priority.
Some pictures from our Earth Day Fair booths:
Information about our Community Climate Action Plan at the Earth Day Fair.
Families enjoyed making earth-friendly totes at the Earth Day Fair.
The Water Services team showed off our water systems and the City’s conservation programs.
Bend Fire & Rescue provided resources on fire-resistant landscapes for our community and ways to increase your property’s defensible space to prevent the spread of wildfire and maintain our urban forest health.
Wildfire Preparedness Fair
Tree and forest health is a major part of wildfire mitigation, and our partners at Bend Park & Recreation District have a team devoted to enhancing our green spaces with healthy ecology and forest development. Bend treasures the abundant green spaces within and surrounding our City limits, with great areas like Shevlin Park and the Deschutes River Trail. Residents may notice our Parks employees conducting debris clearing and tree thinning in these areas, which promotes a healthier forest structure and creates buffer zones with the residences lining the boundaries of these green spaces. Understanding why our green spaces require fire mitigation work is an important part of building our community’s fire resiliency and builds on the home hardening efforts our residents are conducting. All this work to enhance our fire mitigation strategies involves a keen attention to the trees in our area and lots of tree-related work, which in turn contributes to our ongoing status as a Tree City!
Some pictures of our information booths at the Wildfire Preparedness Fair held at Central Oregon Community College on April 30:
City of Bend and Park & Recreation District staff co-hosted a Tree City booth at the Wildfire Preparedness Fair, engaging with community members about the City’s Tree City status and the joint-agency focus on trees and forest health.
Information at the Tree City booth focused on promoting what a healthy forest looks like and why specific fire mitigation efforts are conducted in our local green spaces.
City of Bend and Arbor Day Foundation swag available for community members at the Tree City booth.
The City of Bend had a second booth at the Wildfire Preparedness Fair hosted by the Emergency Management team with information on planning for emergencies within our community. All community members are encouraged to sign up for Deschutes Alerts to stay informed of emergent events with real-time notifications.
In 2024 two exciting events were held in observance of Arbor Day:
Event 1: Educational Fun at Hollinshead Park We had a blast learning about the importance of pollinators. There were three fun Education Stations that everyone rotated through in the morning:
- Scavenger Hunt: Kids searched the park to find answers to tree-related questions.
- Tree Talk: Kids discovered the benefits of trees and some cool facts about them.
- Pollinator Talk: Kids learned about various kinds of pollinators and how they help trees.
Event 2: Tree Planting at Pine Ridge Elementary School The “Green Team” at Pine Ridge Elementary already knew a lot about the value of trees. They were excited and ready to plant a new Linden Tree in their courtyard.
Tree Talk – Kids learned the benefits of trees and some interesting facts.
In 2023 we celebrated Arbor Month with several fun events:
Event 1: Hollinshead Park Kids from Pilot Butte Middle School planted a new fruit tree. They also learned about the value of trees and the importance of pollinators in our environment.
The kids also learned about the value of trees.
…..and learned about the importance of pollinators in our environment.
Event 2: Westside School At Westside School, we planted a new Vander wolf Pine to replace a tree that was lost last year. The tree was planted using Compost Tea.
The tree was planted using a Compost Tea.
The new Vanderwolf Pine at Westside School.
Event 3: Earth Day Fair Bend Tree City joined the festivities downtown at the annual Earth Day Fair.
In 2022 we were thrilled to have an in-person Arbor Day event:
2022 Arbor Month Celebration Event Discovery Park In 2022, several dedicated Bend Area Life Learners gathered at Discovery Park. They learned about the importance of pollinators and received gift bags with seeds and peat pellets.
Next, it was time to plant a tree! Before planting, the group learned about the new Ponderosa Pine and how to plant it using Compost Tea. Despite the chilly weather, the kids eagerly helped with the planting.
A special THANK YOU to our Arbor Day event partners: Mitch Lex, Heart of Oregon, Brett Huet, Kevin Moriarty, BPRD, and Brandon Burk, Pacific Corp.
In 2021, the COVID pandemic unfortunately postponed our Arbor Day celebration once again. However, our Tree City Partners at Bend Park and Recreation District stepped in to help. They planted a new Ponderosa Pine tree to replace one that was lost due to storm damage.
Due to the COVID pandemic, we could not hold an Arbor Day celebration in 2020. However, Bend Park and Recreation District planted a tree to recognize Oregon Arbor Week. The city received a special “Peace Tree” – a seedling Ginkgo tree grown from a seed collected from a Ginkgo tree that survived the Hiroshima atomic bombing. These seedlings were distributed to towns in Oregon with the help of the Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon Community Trees, and the One Sunny Day initiative. This Ginkgo tree may not look like much now, but it will grow into a strong and magnificent shade tree.
