'One for future generations.' Portsmouth celebrates 150th annual Arbor Day

PORTSMOUTH — More than 10,000 trees grow in Portsmouth, including a horse chestnut planted in 1776 by Declaration of Independence signer William Whipple, and the cherry trees given by the Foreign Ministry and Portsmouth’s sister city in Japan following the Portsmouth Peace Treaty.

Beside the breezy harbor early Friday morning, city staff gathered at Peirce Island to plant another — a roughly 12-foot-tall sugar maple tree — to mark the 150th annual celebration of Arbor Day.

The sugar maple tree, which caps off a recent reforestation effort on the island, is one of 100 trees being planted across Portsmouth, a yearly city-led effort.

Before a crowd of nature enthusiasts and members of the city’s Trees and Public Greenery Committee, Assistant Mayor Joanna Kelley read a city proclamation declaring the holiday in Portsmouth.

“We’re so lucky that in our city we have so many residents that join all of our committees and really are dedicated to preserving the character of our community and growing it in a more sustainable, green, long-term way,” she said.

For its forestry efforts, Portsmouth was recognized as a “Tree City USA” by the Arbor Day Foundation while the city’s forestry team was awarded a “Tree Growth Award” by the foundation.

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“We are so thrilled that Portsmouth takes pride in creating a community that places unique value on the planting and caring of trees,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation, in a prepared statement announcing the city’s recognition.

According to the city, the Tree City USA recognition, which Portsmouth has received for over 20 years, comes from meeting the foundation’s criteria points. Those include the city having a tree board or department, a tree-care ordinance, an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita and having an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

"Over the last few years, it has become increasingly clear of the value and importance that trees hold for our future. Cities and towns across the globe are facing challenges when it comes to air quality, water resources, personal health and well-being, and energy use,” Lambe added. “Portsmouth shows its residents and peers that they are forward-thinking and eager to combat these issues. By showing your dedication to urban forestry, you demonstrate a commitment to a brighter, greener future.”

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Portsmouth arborist Charles Baxter explained that the sugar maple tree, a few hundred feet from the harbor shores, is a bare root tree. After being dug from a field, the tree’s root system was dipped in a hydrogel for preservation, and the tree was then shipped in a refrigerator truck to Portsmouth.

The hydrogel is a temporary tactic and gives the tree approximately ten days before it should be planted.

“There’s a lot involved to just plant one tree,” Baxter said.

Before onlookers grabbed shovels and added soil to the small pit where the tree was planted, Paul and Denise Pouliot, head speakers of the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, consecrated the tree. A land acknowledgment from the Portsmouth Public Library in late 2020 notes that modern Portsmouth sits on the lands once inhabited by the Abenaki people.

“We’re all part of the same species of life,” Denise Pouliot said before the consecration.

The tree’s blessing included the sprinkling of tobacco into the pit and water.

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“Hopefully this (tree) will be one for future generations,” said Paul Pouliot.

Recognized the last Friday every April, Arbor Day’s roots stretch back to the Midwest.

Newspaper editor J. Sterling Morton, who later became the nation’s Secretary of Agriculture under President Grover Cleveland, pushed for a day marked with tree plantings in the late 19th century.

According to a 2017 article in TIME Magazine, Morton, a forestation enthusiast and then the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture’s vice president, proposed the idea to the board, which was accepted.

On April 10, 1872, Nebraska City, Nebraska became the first American municipality to celebrate Arbor Day. Per the Library of Congress, an estimated one million trees were planted that day across Nebraska.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH marks 150th annual Arbor Day with sugar maple planting