April 26th is Arbor Day. On this day, the Village of Rye Brook, the Blind Brook School District, and the Town of Rye are teaming up to honor Ashley Welde who passed in September 2023. Ashley was very active as a volunteer in the Rye Brook community, serving on the Rye Brook Sustainability Committee, the Blind Brook School Board (including as President), and the Town of Rye Sustainability Committee. The following is the schedule for this special day of recognition with stops planned as follows:
3:40pm to 4:00pm Ridge Street Elementary School Greenhouse
4:15pm to 4:45pm Crawford Park Tiny Forest (near entrance)
5:00pm to 5:30pm Rye Hills Park Tree Planting (park in Crawford)
5:30pm to 6:30pm Reception at Crawford Park
Arbor Day History:
Arbor Day is America’s National Tree holiday. It started in Nebraska in the 1870’s. J. Sterling Morton, a pioneer who moved into the Nebraska territory, became the editor of Nebraska’s first newspaper and advocated tree plantings from individuals and civic organizations. This led to the concept of a national Arbor Day, and since 1970 Arbor Day is usually celebrated across the nation on the last Friday in April.