It's often overshadowed by its younger, flashier fellow eco-holiday, April 22's Earth Day. But Arbor Day will mark its 144th anniversary Friday and carries a straightforward message.

Unlike Earth Day, which only dates to 1970 and carries a vague message of environmental “protection,” Arbor Day is a day set aside to mark the role trees play in our lives and to promote good, old-fashioned tree planting.

In fact, the national Arbor Day Foundation is making it easy for anyone to celebrate the holiday. Join the foundation before the end of April and receive 10 free shade trees.

New members receive the following saplings: red oak, sugar maple, weeping willow, bald cypress, thornless honey locust, pin oak, river birch, tulip tree, silver maple, and red maple.

The free trees are part of the foundation's Trees for America campaign.

“These trees provide shade in the summer and vibrant colors throughout the fall,” said Matt Harris, chief executive of the foundation. “Through the simple act of planting trees, one person can make a difference in helping to create a healthier and more beautiful planet for all of us to enjoy.”

The trees will be shipped postpaid with enclosed planting instructions at the right time for planting in April or May. The 6- to 12-inch trees are guaranteed to grow or they will be replaced free.

“Since its inception, the foundation sends trees out with its membership,” he said. The trees can be planted anytime as long as the ground is soft, said Danny Cohn, director of public relations for the agency. “These are saplings, six inches tall. They should grow two to four feet a year,” he said.

Cohn said trees provide more than shade. “There are benefits involving clean water, lower carbon emissions, increased animal habitat,” he said.

He added, “We've planted 250 million trees in the last 44 years. We planted a million trees last year.”

“We have quite a few projects going on,” he said, including replanting whole forests after forest fires and the community recovery efforts where the foundation goes in to replant trees after disasters including tornadoes and hurricanes.

“We are still replanting in Joplin, Mo., and in New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy, ” he said.

The foundation counts a million members he said.

John Brundege, forester for Butler County with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources based at Moraine State Park, said his job isn't to plant trees but to watch over the ones already in the ground.

“We deal with private landowners. We give advice on insects and disease, forest planning, sustainability and the advantages of riparian forest, trees along waterways,” Brundege said.

“We work with watershed groups to protect watersheds,” Brundege said.

Trees are beneficial to the county's streams because, he said, “They keep the water clean. Trees are a good filter whether you are getting runoff from a dirt or gravel road or chemicals from a farm field.”

“And their shade helps to keep the water cooler,” he added.

The trees in Butler County are pretty typical for the region, he said. “We still have forests of oak, hickory and maple. The ash trees are nearly gone because of the emerald ash borer,” he said, describing the imported Asian insect responsible for the destruction of more than 40 million ash trees in Pennsylvania and 21 other states east of the Mississippi.

It was first detected in the state in Cranberry Township and Marshall Township in Allegheny County in June 2007.

It's to prevent another ash borer outbreak, Brundege said, that one of his responsibilities is to always keep watch for new pests and invasive species.

According to the foundation, Arbor Day was first observed in 1872, in Nebraska, where the idea originated with Julius Sterling Morton.

He and his wife, Caroline, were lovers of nature, and the home they established in Nebraska was quickly planted with trees, shrubs, and flowers.

Morton was a journalist and soon became editor of Nebraska's first newspaper.

Given that forum, he spread agricultural information and his enthusiasm for trees to a receptive audience.

His fellow pioneers missed their trees and needed them for windbreaks, fuel, building materials and shade from the hot prairie sun.

Morton wrote and spoke about environmental stewardship and the interrelatedness of life. He encouraged everyone to set aside a specific day to plant trees.

In 1872, the state Board of Agriculture declared April 10 Arbor Day and offered prizes to the counties and individuals that properly planted the largest number of trees on that day.

Today, Arbor Day is celebrated in all 50 states.

Hold an Arbor Day ceremony and honor the good stewards in your community.Organize a “Big Tree” or “Oldest Tree” search.Plant a tree.Host a reception to honor the tree board members in your community.Write a story, produce a play, or present a skit about trees.Choose a public park or downtown area to clean up.Read a book about trees.Hold an Arbor Day birthday party for the community.Sponsor a craft show featuring exhibitors who engage in crafts with natural materials.Schedule classes on tree pruning, tree selection, tree identification and tree planting.Hold a Read-In at the library.Host a concert.Sponsor a poster contest, poetry contest or tree trivia contest.Organize a tree identification hike.Volunteer with a local tree-planting organization.Encourage neighborhood organizations to hold Arbor Day block partiesSOURCE: Arbor Day Foundation