Need Ideas To Talk With Your Community About Arbor Day? Let Us Help!

Keep reading for a variety of ideas with differing levels of involvement, from in-person events to social media and more. Feel free to use none of these ideas or all of them and change them in any way you like. Use them as a starting point and make them your own or post them as-is.

You may tag the Wisconsin DNR in your social media posts – we’d be happy to engage with them – but please know it is not necessary.

Arbor Day Event Ideas:

Silly Tree Scavenger Hunt

• We recommend running this for about a week or two before Arbor Day. You can then announce the winner on Arbor Day. Celebrate them by sharing their picture and announcing their tree as the wackiest/largest/coolest tree for that year for the community.
• Work with a local restaurant or tree-related business for an award to help bolster local connections and participations in the contest.
• Example Post:
  • For Arbor Day, we want YOU to find the [INSERT ADJECTIVE YOU’D LIKE SUCH AS WACKIEST, LARGEST, COOLEST, ETC.] tree in our community! Now until [INSERT DATE], post your photos and tag us in them [INSERT YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES HERE]. We will announce the winner with the highest number of votes and declare it our [COMMUNITY NAME] Tree of 2023 on Arbor Day, April 28.

Specific Tree Highlight – Champion Trees

• Does your community have a Champion Tree or one that represents your community?
• If you do have a Champion Tree, highlight it and share some cool facts about it. Here are some ideas to get you started:
  • How old is the tree/when it might’ve been planted? What local history has it seen in its time?
  • How large is its canopy or circumference?
  • You might also want to try having a celebration for it such as a luncheon under its canopy or a proclamation event. Remember, an Arbor Day proclamation and Arbor Day celebration event are required for a city to keep their tree city status.

• If you do not have a Champion Tree, you could run a contest to determine which one could be nominated to be a champion tree or one to represent the community.
  • Example Posts:
    • Wisconsin’s Champion Tree Program recognizes and celebrates the state’s largest trees. This year for Arbor Day, we want your help finding the biggest tree in [INSERT COMMUNITY NAME]! Send us your ideas for what we could nominate by email [INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS] or by tagging us in your photos on social media [INSERT SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLE]. Learn more at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/forests/championtrees.
    • Is there a tree you think represents our community? Take a picture of it and tell us where it is! Tag us in your post or email it to [INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS]. We’ll use your submissions to designate a new community tree. [YOU CAN CHOOSE HOW YOU’D LIKE TO DO TO – PERHAPS, CREATE ANOTHER POST WITH FINALISTS].

Tree ID Relay

• Event Idea
  • Host a guided walk through a community favorite park or neighborhood. Have a guide point out the trees as you go, giving fun details on each.

• Social Media Activation
  • Happy Arbor Day! Plant a tree, take a walk in the woods, or learn to identify the trees on your street. Take it a step further and help others learn about the trees in your neighborhood by labeling them with sidewalk chalk. Check out this resource to help you identify yours at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/education/treeID.

• Poster Contest
  • Find out what trees mean to your local community from schools or adolescents/families from the general community.
  • Make it a coloring contest or writing contest. Have parents post their children’s entries on social media and tag your organization OR request they be emailed to you with permission for you to post “winning” entries on your social media.
  • Example Post:
    • For Arbor Day this year, we want to hear from YOU on what makes our community trees special. Make a [POSTER/VIDEO/SOCIAL MEDIA POST] telling us about your favorite tree and why.
• Tree Planting Ceremony
  • Schedule your tree planting ceremonies on social media for all to join in! Can make it a bigger event by inviting people to picnic under the newly planted trees.
  • Example Post:
    • Join us in celebrating Arbor Day this year with a tree planting at [INSERT LOCATION + DATE AND TIME].

Tree Appreciation

• A social media contest in which the community sends in pictures showing what they love about trees: Their ability to provide shade, how they serve as a home for many creatures, helping clean the air, helping with water management, a great place for a swing or a tree house.
  • Example post:
    • Arbor Day is April 28, 2023! Celebrate with us by posting a photo of your favorite tree and tell us what you love about it. [You could include a photo of a memorable tree in your community and write something about it as an example, such as “This huge cottonwood on Park Street has been around for generations” or “We love the fall color on this sugar maple on Jackson Street.”]

Tree Facts

• Celebrate your community trees by putting out social media posts with their fun facts!
  • Ideas you could share:
    • How many trees are in your community?
    • How many different types of species are in the community tree inventory?
    • Where are your biggest trees?
    • Which tree do you have the most of?
    • How are they maintained?
    • How does your urban forestry/parks and rec department run and who are some workers to highlight?
    • Who helps clean up the trees after a storm?
    • Who manages the trees in our parks?
    • Who cleans up the streets from leaves during fall?

Tree Diversity

• Did you know that more than one-third of the trees in cities and towns across Wisconsin are maples? That’s too much! A diverse array of species is beneficial so our urban forests can better withstand diseases and pests such as the emerald ash borer. Read this from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to learn more about species diversity and which trees to plant: https://forestrynews.blogs.govdelivery.com/2021/04/08/species-diversity-in-the-urban-forest-a-short-guide-for-homeowners/.