Celebrate Arbor Month & Earth Day in April

April is Arbor Month in Oregon and Earth Day is April 22! This month, we celebrate trees and all the good things they do for us and the environment. Trees give us shade, make oxygen, clean the air, and reduce the urban heat island effect.

Trees also help local streams in many ways:

• They provide shade and keep the water cool for fish and other animals.
• Their roots hold the soil in place, which helps stop erosion.
• They clean pollution from rainwater before it goes into streams.
• They soak up extra water, which helps prevent flooding.
• They give homes to local wildlife.
• They beautify streams and make them peaceful for people and animals.

The City of Salem is proud to celebrate 50 years as a Tree City USA and has won the Growth Award 19 times! The City knows how important trees are and works hard to plant more trees in Salem.

This month, to celebrate Arbor Month and Earth Day, you can help the environment in different ways:

• Plant a tree. You can plant a tree on your own or check out a volunteer planting event. The City of Salem contracts with Friends of Trees to organize volunteer tree planting events. Check out the Friends of Trees website for more info.
• Pick up trash. Join the Mid-Willamette Outreach Group (MWOG) for one (or both) litter cleanup events to celebrate Earth Day!
  • Sunday April 19, 11a.m. - 2p.m., Cascades Gateway Park, join City of Salem's Clean Streams & Parks and CastawayWU for a litter cleanup and park trail maintenance event. Find more details and register here.
  • Saturday April 25, 9a.m. - 10:30a.m., Wallace House Park, join City of Keizer and MWOG for a litter cleanup event. Find more details and register here.
• Walk or ride your bike more instead of driving. Join Get There Oregon and see how much money you can save by biking, carpooling, or using public transit.
• Save water and electricity at home. Visit the City's website for tips on how to save water indoors and outdoors.

No matter how you choose to celebrate trees and Earth Day, what matters most is showing love and respect for our planet. You can read about all things tree-related in Salem by visiting the City of Salem's website. You can also read more tips to help protect waterways on the Clean Streams website.