Join us on Arbor Day to plan trees on the HFC campus
Please conside donating to the tree fund today
Select the “Other” option, where you can write in “Tree Fund,” and select the donation amount.
The Sustainable HFC Committee will celebrate Arbor Day on Friday, April 24, from 9:30 to approximately 10:30 a.m. (give or take) by planting trees in the strip of grass between the rain garden and the Athletic Memorial Building (Building H on the main campus). See our Campus Map.
HFC Pre-Education Program Director Dr. Carolyn Casale is expecting approximately 10-15 HFC students and employees to attend and plant trees under the guidance of Facilities. Approximately 25-30 fourth grade students from William Ford Elementary School, along with their chaperones, will also help plant trees. This is the third year William Ford students have participated in planting trees at HFC to celebrate Arbor Day.
“My Pre-Education students have been working with Mrs. Mariam Hamid's fourth grade class, and it is wonderful to end our academic year by having them on our campus celebrating Arbor Day,” said Casale. “We hope that this experience will enrich their understanding of sustainability and open them to the (free) summer possibilities on the HFC campus. I want to emphasize that this is a mutually beneficial relationship. My pre-education students and I learn so much from these curious critical thinkers.”
Afterward, the William Ford students will take a tour of the campus, including a stop at the Hammond Planetarium (Room J-102) in the Science Building (Building J on the main campus) to see a Planetarium show.
“My students are incredibly excited to get their hands in the dirt for this year's Arbor Day celebration,” said Hamid. “This event provides a vital bridge between the classroom and the real world. By participating in the Arbor Day planting, my students are applying environmental principles in a way that benefits the entire community, which hopefully leads to many future projects.
The importance of trees
Trees have innate value for their beauty and aesthetics. Trees also have practical value for the ecosystem benefits for the planet. Three main ways trees mitigate the effects of human-induced climate change:
- Reducing human input of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere (replaces fossil fuels with renewables).
- Removing carbon dioxide and methane from the atmosphere (carbon capture technologies).
- Adapting to worsening climate conditions (flood and fire control).
Trees have an important impact on climate change, pollution reduction, promoting biodiversity, reducing water runoff, and many other ecosystem benefits. The HFC community values trees for the ecosystem, as well as their intrinsic beauty.
HFC biology instructor and chair of the Sustainable HFC Committee Dr. Mary Parekunnel shared her insights about Arbor Day.
“Arbor Day is less about the act of planting trees, but more about renewing a long-term commitment to the planet. By focusing on protection and sustainability, we shift from being consumers of nature to its stewards,” she said.
Arbor Day has Michigan roots
Arbor Day was founded in 1872 by Julius Sterling Morton, who was born in New York in 1832 before his family moved to Michigan in 1834. Morton was a journalist and a politician, most notably the 3rd United States Secretary of Agriculture from 1893-97, serving under President Grover Cleveland.
When he was 22, Morton and his family moved to Nebraska and planted trees, shrubs, and flowers on the prairie around them. Morton knew many people who came from places that had more trees than Nebraska did and missed being surrounded by them. Morton used his writing and speaking opportunities to advocate for what is now called environmental stewardship. He approached what is now the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development with a resolution to designate an annual day to plant trees statewide, which was adopted. As a result, April 10, 1872 was designated the first Arbor Day, with an estimated 1 million trees planted. Arbor Day is celebrated nationally on the final Friday of April each year.
The Arbor Day Foundation was founded in 1972 on the 100th anniversary of the first Arbor Day. It is the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to planting frees. Since its inception, the Arbor Day Foundation has planted more than 500 million trees.
Donate today to the Tree Fund
Members of HFC’s School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and the Sustainable HFC Committee recognized the need and desire by the HFC community for more trees on campus and set up a Tree Fund. This fund establishes a process for the HFC community to donate to the HFC Foundation to have trees planted. It also establishes a process to make the tree plantings happen efficiently, following environmental best practices.
How much does it cost to plant a tree?
- A donation of $300 or more covers the average cost of one tree planting and a donor plaque.
- A donation of $250 to $299 covers the average cost of one tree planting.
- Any donation less than $250 will support a milestone tree planting when $250 is accumulated to fund materials necessary for the planting.
We encourage you to donate to the Tree Fund today at the link above. You can also donate by mail. Please make your checks out to “The Henry Ford College Foundation” and include “Tree Fund” in the memo line. Mail the check to the following address:
The Henry Ford College Foundation
Welcome Center
5101 Evergreen Rd.
Dearborn, MI 48128
Hope to see you on Arbor Day
On Arbor Day, please dress appropriately to plant trees, and bring water to stay hydrated.
No registration is required. HFC’s Arbor Day celebration is free and open to the public.
- For questions or more information about making a donation, contact the HFC Foundation at 313-317-6839.
- For questions or more information about Arbor Day or the Sustainable HFC Committee, contact greenideas@hfcc.edu.
Public events at HFC are open to all. Everyone is welcome.