Star-shaped leaves, pale flowers and cucumber fruit, all characteristics of wild cucumber. / Photo Credit: Bugwood.org
By the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Plants that are pokey, viny or quick to spread across the landscape sometimes seem alarming when you discover them in your backyard or woods, or even when you spot them along the highway.
Wild cucumber has all these characteristics, and its growth rate has been quite prolific in some parts of Wisconsin again this year. But all of this is not as ominous as it seems.
Beginning July 1, 2025, cities, villages, towns, counties, tribes and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in –or conducting their projects in – Wisconsin can apply for a regular or startup 2026 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Urban Forestry grant. The total 2026 available funding is $559,680, with a possible release of $139,920 of catastrophic storm reserve to fund a second round in March 2027. 
When your newly planted trees are getting comfortable in their new homes, you’ve pulled the splinters from your hands and you find yourself at a desk asking yourself, “What now?”, we have an answer for you.
Are you a forestry expert interested in working with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), forest industry professionals and natural resource leaders to ensure sustainable management practices of Wisconsin’s forest resources?
Arbor Day’s roots began in the late 1800s in Nebraska where, according to the Arbor Day Foundation, residents of Nebraska City felt a lack of trees in their community. The secretary of the Nebraska Territory at the time, J. Sterling Morton, proposed a statewide tree-planting holiday, and on April 10, 1872, the first Arbor Day was celebrated. 
For the last few years, our urban forestry team has been writing social media posts for Wisconsin communities to post during Arbor Week. We encourage you to use social media to celebrate the many benefits of trees and inform the public about the importance of tree care.