Arbor day not new, it has history back in 1870s, on this day holiday is observed and people plant trees in their community with passion to save environment. for upcoming generations. This initiative was proposed by J. sterling Morton, who was an American Journalist and politician and most of times he wrote on agriculture and shared his dedication for trees and environment for the readers. At the time, there were few trees in the state and for several years Morton proposed a dedicated day or a holiday to encourage the people of Nebraskans and nearby areas to plant trees to make environment better. Morton believed that trees help as effective windbreaks, protecting crops and soil erosion and overexposure to sun and also provide fuel and perfect building material.

Morton efforts come true and first Arbor Day was celebrated on 10th April, 1872 and on that near about a million trees were planted. After watching huge event, US declared it a holiday and society was encouraged to plant trees.  In 1880 American schools observe the day by planting trees as memorials of historical events and in honor of famous people.

In the United States, Arbor Day is commonly observed on the last Friday in April, though some states have moved the date to coincide with the best tree planting weather. For example, Arbor Day in Florida is observed on the third Friday in January, while in Alaska it is celebrated on the third Monday in May. Many other countries also observe the holiday but often on a different day and under a different name.

Keeping the spirit of Arbor Day, The Govt. of Pakistan has initiated a project “Ten Billion Trees Tsunami Program”. The main focus of this project was to plant the trees and make Pakistan green and to combat the environment issues. The cost of the project is about 125.18 Billion. This project was launched under the supervision of Ministry of climate change and Provincial forest and wildlife departments. This project was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Pakistan on 2nd September, 2018 with the moto "Plant for Pakistan”. The main goal of this project was to revive forest and wildlife resources of Pakistan and improve the overall conservation of current protected areas, job creation and encourage eco-tourism. 

This program put a great impact on the society as people start planting trees and campaigns were started in schools to plant at least one tree with your name and look after it, along with this awareness sessions were also delivered which create a deep impact on society for plantation of trees.

During the Global COVID-19 pandemic, the Forest and Wildlife Departments provided green jobs through green stimulus to 84,609 daily wagers under Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Program. A total plantation target of 430 million was achieved and a total of 1 billion plantation target is set for 30th June,2021. This process is ongoing and which also reduced the deforestation, controlled the floods and weather is also much pleasant. It is hoped that this project will be taken up by other nominated government to keep the country green and sustainable.

References:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arbor-Day

http://www.mocc.gov.pk/ProjectDetail/M2QzOWJmMjUtZTU3MC00NmFkLWE4YmMtZDFhMmRlOGU2NGRh

About the Author: Meraj Ahsan Qureshi is a young motivated, environmental, health, and safety officer. He is also a social activist, who is determined to educate and change society through awareness and encourage others to be a part of the change.