Nebraska City is hosting a weekend full of activities in celebration of Arbor Day.

Nebraska City Tourism and Commerce Marketing Coordinator Tammy Partsch said J. Sterling Morton, one of the early settlers of Nebraska City, was the proponent of Arbor Day, which started in 1872.

“He knew the importance of planting trees, not only for the benefit the trees give to the soil, but also for pioneers that were coming out to this prairieland,” Partsch said. “That is something you need, for that sense of community, that sense of involvement, you need the trees, you need the shade, that helps for the downtown aspect, for parks, that’s one of the first things people do is they plant trees.”

On that first Arbor Day, over one million trees were planted in Nebraska and now Arbor Day is celebrated worldwide.

“It’s a day you set aside to plant trees and care for trees and think about how they affect our environment and how they affect our communities,” Partsch said. “It is now celebrated in all 50 states and many countries throughout the world. They don’t all celebrate it on the last Friday in April, that’s when we do, because that’s our really good planting time for most trees.”

In Nebraska City, weekend activities kick off Friday and include free admission at the Arbor Lodge State Park and Mansion, the 148th Annual Arbor Day Parade, a 5K or 10K Fun Run Saturday morning, Arbor Day Fest at Kimmel Orchard and plenty of food and drink options.

You can find the full weekend schedule of events at gonebraskacity.com.