Wisconsinites plant trees across the state in honor of Arbor Day 🌳

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- Since 1883 Wisconsin has celebrated Arbor Day, the last Friday in April to emphasize the need to plant and preserve trees.

On Friday, April 28, multiple 2nd grade students from Hales Corners Elementary School took a field trip to the Boerner Botanical Gardens to learn about the holiday.

"It’s really important to think about Arbor Day and Earth Day as ways that we can be good stewards of the land so that we can protect the wildlife, for ourselves and the betterment of everyone," said Guy Smith, a director at the Milwaukee County Parks.

Similarly, at Vincent High School, students planted 14 trees with city and state leaders.

"They [trees] clean the air that we breathe and the water that we drink...they cool, and they shade us from the hot sun, they provide homes for wildlife," said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

Wisconsin has a program that makes the tree industry more attractive for new employees, offering a pathway to becoming a skilled arborist over the span of three years.

"Wisconsin was the first in the nation to offer arborists apprenticeship," said David Polk, the director at Department of Workforce Development Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards. 

Polk said this type of labor was the fastest growing apprenticeship in the state for five years straight.

"I think that lends itself to the need of arborists to ensure that our environment, our parks, are all, all have healthy trees," added Polk.

At least 44 countries worldwide celebrate Arbor Day each year.

Vincent High School is just one location that has made it a tradition for many years. Mayor Johnson says it's been about 145 years.

"Just like you, newly planted trees need time to grow to reach their full potential; this means now is the time to plant trees to give them the chance to grow into large trees for tomorrow," Johnson said.