The first time Arbor Day was celebrated in the United States was back in 1872. As settlers began to migrate to the west from the North and the South seeking new opportunities, people missed the presence of trees around them. Not only did the trees help agriculturally, but they also provided shade on hot days to protect people from the heat.
To counter this, J. Sterling Morton proposed the idea of an Arbor Day, where people would be encouraged to plant trees and celebrate nature. On that first Arbor Day on April 10th, 1872, it is believed that roughly one million trees were planted in Kansas alone.
Fast forward to now, and Arbor Day has become a tradition not just in the United States, but in countries all over the world. At AFS, it has become a longstanding tradition, dating back far into our school’s history.
Every celebration is special because each different group of people brings something new to be shared, whether that be a new poem, song, dance, or something else. Because of this, the iterations each year have been different, even if they only had small changes. To find out more about these changes (and what has stayed the same), I spoke to Upper School History teacher Rusty Regalbuto and Miranda Shandell ‘25 to hear what they thought about Arbor Day.
How many years have you been at AFS?
Regalbuto: Thirty one years.
Shandell: I joined when I was a year and a half, in 2008, so… 17 years.
What is your favorite part about Arbor Day?
Regalbuto: I like the choral moments. …I enjoy the seniors walking in with their pages. I think it’s a beautiful ceremony. They dress up, they look lovely, they have their first grade pages, and it’s part of that lovely tradition that we have and they’ll reunite with them at graduation.
Shandell: I think it’s just lovely to be outside. It’s (most of the time) on a day that’s a nice day, sometimes it’s not, but it is the celebration of spring, so there’s spring all around you. There’s trees, there’s… the sounds of nature, and it’s sunny. Overall it’s just beautiful to be celebrating nature as a whole community.
In the years that you’ve been here, how has Arbor Day evolved?
Regalbuto: It’s pretty much been the same. You know, the number of speakers may change from year to year in terms of the poetry… but it’s been pretty much the same. The location is the only thing that’s really changed. When I first started, the location was out front across from Tyson House.
Shandell: The only real thing I can think of is the dance that the fourth graders do changed. It was still with the sticks, but it had knee bells and we were kicking [to a] fun beat.… Most of it remains pretty constant.
We’ve always sung the Mayday song… and they’ve always done “Wild Mountain Thyme.” There’s always been the maypoles… poems, the tree planting [to] simple gifts, so it’s been pretty constant as long as I’ve been here.
In addition to the changes that Shandell got to witness while being at AFS for so long, this year she also had the opportunity to read a poem, one of the longstanding traditions within Arbor Day at AFS.
You read a poem [on] Arbor Day. What was the title of the poem and how did you pick it?
Shandell: It’s called “Mindful” by Mary Oliver. I was given a doc full of poems and they were like, “just pick one.” It was a bit overwhelming, but I read through most of them and I just wait[ed] for things that stuck out to me. This particular poem is about finding beauty in the mundane. …I liked it, I liked the message, and I thought the words were beautiful, so that’s why I picked it.
To celebrate the planting that is done on Arbor Day, the current 12th grade and 1st grade classes each plant a tree, marking the end and start of two journeys in the AFS community respectively. Arbor Day is a beautiful tradition, and with each tree that grows, one that will continue to bring new traditions into the AFS community.
Alana • May 14, 2025 at 12:57 pm
I never thought of the historical context of Arbor Day because I thought it was just a random AFS tradition, and never thought it was a continental idea. The historical context of Arbor Day did surprise me, tho because I never would have guessed it was started by the settlers. I enjoy Arbor day every year because it is one of the closing moments, and signs that spring is finally here. It is nice to see the whole community come together as a school and be present in the moment. Arbor day is one of the things that makes AFS different to other schools because we really get to connect with our small community.
Miranda Shandell • May 14, 2025 at 11:39 am
Ash, thank you for this amazing article and the opportunity to be interviewed. I LOVE Arbor Day, I hope at some point all other AFS students can come to appreciate the beauty and magic of it.
Gio Damico • May 14, 2025 at 10:52 am
Learning more about Arbor Day and its history was interesting. This article emphasized how impactful Arbor Day is to the AFS community. I’ve attended AFS since 7th grade, and I never realized Arbor Day has been a tradition since 1872. Each Arbor Day I have attended, I also enjoyed the poems, the singing, watching the maypole, and just being together as a community. I think it’s cool how every year, Arbor Day is a bit different and unique in its way; it makes each year feel special. I think after reading this article I feel more connected to AFS and it’s history
Student • May 14, 2025 at 10:51 am
I really liked this article. I liked how we can see a photo of the Arbor Day tradition with the Maple, back in 1961. What has your experience been of Arbor Day at AFS? I’ve been here for two years now and my first experience was pretty chill. I didn’t really know what to do cause it was all new to me, but it was very interesting. I remember the weather that day. It was very hot in the sun but once you moved into the shade where the trees were, it was freezing. I always enjoyed watching the senior’s sing with their first grader’s and watch them put dirt for the tree. Its crazy how people have been here literally their entire life. Some people have told me that they’ve been here since they were a couple months old. Arbor Day this was pretty chill as well. Watching the senior’s sing again, watching the 1st graders do their dance, hearing poems, watching them throw soil onto the tree. Everything was pretty much the same. Weather was much more hot, but it was chill.
Sylvie Harris • May 14, 2025 at 10:42 am
Some things that surprised me about the historical origins of this article was that the location of Arbor Day has moved around. I really like that every class gets to plant one tree on campus, and that many of them are still here. My mom went to this school many years ago, and she told me about her Arbor Day, and where they planted the trees. I learned that mostly all the trees on campus are there from Arbor Day, and it’s nice to see how far they’ve grown. I have only been at the school since the 9th grade, so seeing the one from a few weeks ago, and last year’s was very similar. It is a very nice ceremony, and I enjoyed it this year and last year. I think that it’s interesting to learn that this tradition started in the 1870s, and is still going right now, because of AFS is celebrating the earth, but I wonder why it doesn’t take place on earth day.
N/A • May 14, 2025 at 10:39 am
In my short time at AFS, I can clearly see this to be true, and it was very interesting to read about how far back this tradition goes. I think it all lies in the value of simplicity and community, seen through the now graduated seniors, and their pages being clear examples of a community driven organisation. To see the care and thought that went into each submission reflect the strong bond and mutual respect shared within AFS. It inspires newer students like me to try and contribute to the community and uphold the same spirit of connection, reflection, and support that defines the school.
Henry Goldstein • May 14, 2025 at 10:02 am
I agree with the perspective of this article. One of the problems mentioned here was the malicious use of phones for cyberbullying and posting negative things about other people online. There is no doubt that this is a problem among teenagers. But if you think about it, what will taking students’ phones away for seven hours each day do to solve that? Taking away phones to prevent cyberbullying will only delay to when students get their phones back. I believe that phones have many beneficial uses for students, like the reasons that were mentioned in this article. Banning phones will only make our school community run more disorderly and inefficiently.
Imani Heath • May 14, 2025 at 10:00 am
Learning the history behind Arbor Day was interesting because I would have never thought that it would’ve been celebrated so far back in time. This is only my second year at AFS and Arbor is really exciting for me. I feel like Arbor Day is just a day of joy where everyone is smiling and enjoying themselves. It is cool seeing maypole being wrapped because it gets everyone excited while also being a bitter sweet moment because it is a reminder that the 12th graders will be leaving soon. From what I hear Arbor Day is usually on nice sunny day which is definitely the icing on the cake.
Remy Alper • May 14, 2025 at 9:45 am
I thought it was very interesting to see how far back in History Arbor Day goes and how people all over the world celebrate it. This is currently my 8th year at AFS and Arbor Day has always been one of my favorite traditions that this school offers. Its such a nice gathering we have as an entire school where we get to celebrate spring and see the 12th and first graders come together. Our class of 2027 did the maypole back in 3rd grade and that was a really cool moment we got to have as a class and we sadly missed our 6th grade opportunity due to covid so I’m really hopeful to be able to do it my senior year because its a really special tradition that will be with be me for 10 years once I reach the end of senior year. Arbor Day overall is a beautiful celebration and it’s usually a nice and sunny day outside which makes it an even better experience.