Kasson declares April 26 as Arbor Day

Kasson Mayor Chris McKern has declared Friday, April 26, as Arbor Day with the city’s annual Arbor Day event scheduled for 10 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park.
On the last Friday of April each year, and throughout the month of April, Minnesotans pay “Special tribute to rural and community trees and all the natural resources and dedicate themselves to the continued vitality of our state’s forests,” McKern said in his Arbor Day Proclamation. Arbor Day is celebrated nationally through the Arbor Day Foundation and its Tree City program.
The reasons for celebrating Arbor Day, the proclamation states are that the health of the people is tied to the health of their forests, trees and forests improve our physical health by cleaning the air, reducing exposure to the sun’s UV rays and decreasing temperatures during the summer. Childhood asthma rates are also lower in urban communities that have a higher density of trees, trees and forests improve mental health by reducing stress and increasing concentration, forests create high-quality drinking water by acting as a natural filter and getting a daily dose of trees is healthy for all Minnesotans.
According to the Arbor Day Foundation, 59.27 percent of Minnesotans live in a Tree City USA community. Tree City USA is a nationwide movement that provides the framework necessary for community’s to manage and celebrate their public trees. Sponsored by the Arbor Foundation in partnership with the National Association of State Foresters and the US Forest Service it has been greening up cities and towns across America since 1976. Kasson has been a Tree City USA community for over 40 years.