Columbus Tree Board plants tree at Riverwalk for Arbor Day
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The third Friday in April is set aside as National Arbor Day, a day to emphasize the importance of trees to the environment and our health.
It may come as a surprise, but today marked the first time the City of Columbus has planted a tree in recognition of Arbor Day.
The Columbus Tree Board, with the help of some city leaders, planted a Drake Elm alongside the Riverwalk, near the Pedestrian Bridge.
Mayor Keith Gaskin said trees have health benefits for us and future generations.
“This is something that we need to teach our children about. You know, in our very hectic lifestyles today we forget about nature many times, and the type of impact it has on us. Being around trees like this, there’s data that shows it improves people’s moods. It helps with, getting out and being in nature, helps with depression, and we know that we have a lot of that going on in our society today. So, any time that we can add something like this to beautify our community and make our citizens more proud of the Friendly City, then we’re excited to do it,” said Gaskin.
While today is National Arbor Day, Mississippi celebrates a state version of the day on the second Friday in February, because it’s generally a better time to plant trees in our climate.
