National Arbor Day is the Tree Planter's holiday. The first Arbor Day took place on April 10, 1872 in Nebraska where a special day was set aside for planting trees. This tree planting idea caught on, and that is how Arbor Day came to be. All over the world, people are planting trees in their yards, in their communities, on their school grounds, places of worship and more. But it does not stop there. Caring for the trees and learning about their value goes along with the responsibility of planting them. For more information on how to care for and get started in planting your trees, you can visit the National Arbor Day Foundation.

The celebration of Arbor Day gives us an opportunity to learn about trees and take positive action to make the world a better place. Here is a quick list of reasons trees are so important to us all:
~Trees provide shade to keep us and our homes cool.
~Trees give off vital oxygen through photosynthesis, which humans and animals need to be able to breathe!
~Trees absorb harmful pollutants and small particles from the air that could damage our lungs.
~Trees provide protection from the wind.
~Trees reduce noise pollution.
~Trees give us products such as: chewing gum, crayons, soap, shatterproof glass, suntan lotion, cork, dyes, life-saving drugs, writing paper, syrup, perfume, pencils, firewood, building materials, and many more.
~Trees provide a home and food for wildlife.
~Rotting logs and leaves eventually turn into soil and put nutrients back into the soil for other plants to grow.
~Trees are beautiful to look at and it is so pleasant to listen to leaves rustle in the breeze! They are fun to explore, exciting to climb, and great to dream under.

Join millions of other people and take part in Arbor Day and plant a tree!

Make Your Own Paper
Making your own paper from old paper is similar to what happens in a paper-recycling mill. At a mill, the pulp is put into a machine with a long moving screen. The water drips through the screen. Then the screen moves through part of the machine that presses and dries the pulp. The paper you will be making will be much thicker and rougher than the recycled paper made at a mill. Paper mills have several machines to make the paper smooth and flat, which can't do at home. Here is what you will need:
Blender or eggbeater
Mixing bowl
Flat dish or pan (9"x13" or a little larger than the screen)
Round jar or rolling pin
Newspapers, scrap paper or wrapping paper
Piece of non-rusting screen (about 12" x 8" or the size of paper you want to make)
4 pieces of cloth or felt to use as blotting paper (same size as screen)
10 pieces of newspaper for blotting
2 cups of hot water
2 teaspoons of instant starch (optional)

What to Do:
1. Tear the newspaper, scrap paper or wrapping paper into very small bits. Add 2 cups of hot water to ½ cup of shredded paper.
2. Beat the paper and water in the blender, or with the eggbeater, to make pulp. Mix in the starch (optional). Completed pulp should be the consistency of split pea soup.
3. Pour the pulp into the flat pan.
4. Slide the screen into the bottom of the pan and move it around until it is evenly covered with pulp.
5. Lift the screen out of the pan carefully. Hold it level and let it drain for a minute.
6. Put the screen, pulp-side up, on a blotter that is placed on top of newspaper. Put another blotter over the pulp and more newspaper over that.
7. Roll a jar or rolling pin over the "sandwich" of blotter paper to squeeze out the rest of the water.
8. Take off the top newspaper. Flip the blotter and the screen very carefully. Do not move the pulp, it will take at least 12 to 24 hours to dry depending on how thick and wet the paper is. Wow!! There is your own hand-made paper! (If you have leftover pulp, don't pour it down the drain--you might clog things up. Put it in the trash.)

NOTE: Use some decorative elements such as colored thread, glitter, dried flowers and leaves to add some flair. Now you can make cards or note paper out of your newly created paper.

Chelle and her tree loving family hope you will plant a tree this year. Every tree planted helps keep our planet healthy and thriving.