YORKTON - Arbor Week is upcoming and the Yellowhead Flyway Birding Trail Association is planning to celebrate the event May 21.
The YFBTA will be planting evergreens along the south side of the Brick Mill property in Yorkton, and will also have trees to give away to those who might have their own Arbor Day plans.
“The establishment of Arbor Day in Canada is credited to Sir George W. Ross, later Premier of Ontario, when he was Minister of Education (1883-1899). Ross established Arbor Day ‘to give the school children an interest in making and keeping the school grounds attractive.’ The planting of trees and of having school gardens soon became an important part of the life of many schools across Canada,” wrote Walter Farquarson in a YFBTA article.
“It is unclear when the celebration of an Arbor Day gradually lost importance within the Province of Saskatchewan. It is fair to say that some of the factors included the closing of rural schools, urbanization, and the autumn celebration of National Forestry Week combined with the unfortunate false assumption that to have both days honoured was unnecessary. National Forestry Day’s emphasis was primarily on the economic value of forestry throughout the country. The Saskatchewan Forestry Association has been an encourager in the work that has culminated in the commitment of the Province of Saskatchewan to make the proclamation and promotion of Arbor Day/Arbor Week an annual event.”
The YFBTA then became involved.
“The campaign to have an annual proclamation and promotion of Arbor Day was begun (2018) by YFBTA (Yellowhead Flyway Birding Trail Association aka Yellowhead Nature Society). SOS Trees of Saskatoon, Nature Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Forestry Association all added their support to the call,” wrote Farquarson. “The support of Hon. Warren Kaeding, MLA for Melville-Saltcoats constituency, was enthusiastic and very helpful. The first such proclamation, made in 2020, by Hon. Dustin Duncan, Ministry of Environment, was followed by the proclamation made in 2021 through the same Ministry, then headed by Minister Hon. Warren Kaeding. In 2022 it was announced by Minister Kaeding that the proclamation and promotion would be an annual event.”
The proclamation this year, 2023, was made by Minister Hon. Dana Skoropad. The event locally will be held at the brick mill site in Yorkton from 2-4 p.m. in cooperation with the City of Yorkton and the Yorkton Tribal Council.
