Celebrating Arbor Day in New Milford

NEW MILFORD, CT --- Some professional gardeners, and one notable amateur, will be taking to the woods this weekend to celebrate Arbor Day -- Friday, April 27.

On Saturday, Robert Judd, local arborist, and Deirdra Wallin, program coordinator at Deer Pond Farm and advanced master gardener, will lead a walk and talk, informing participants about how our trees are part of a social network and are influenced by the environment. This walk is a follow up to the collaborative book discussion on "Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate―Discoveries from a Secret World," by Peter Wohlleben (2016), between The Connecticut Audubon Society and the Sherman Library. The program is from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Dress for the weather, and some mildly hilly trails. It's free for members and April 20 book club attendees, and $5 for non-members. Register here.

On Sunday, join New Milford Mayor Pete Bass as he plants a tree next to the tank on The Green at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. The American sycamore that will be planted is paid for using a grant.

The first American Arbor Day was celebrated in Nebraska City, Nebraska on April 10, 1872. An estimated one million trees were planted. Connecticut's own Birdsey Northrop is regarded as the man responsible for championing the idea outside of the U.S. He was when he visited Japan in 1883 and delivered his Arbor Day, planting the seeds for the celebration in Japan, Australia, Canada, and Europe.