Artisan Woods now at Arbor Day Farm’s Tree Adventure

Be sure and check out Artisan Woods, the new attraction at Arbor Day Farm’s Tree Adventure this summer.

Artisan Woods is an outdoor showcase of nature-inspired structures and art that are on display along the Tree House Trail. You’ll see trees and nature in an enjoyable, interactive way as you walk through a limb made of lathes from hardwood trees, see a sprout from a giant acorn, explore a human-sized bird’s nest and discover larger-than-life chairs made from cedar wood.

Artisan Woods is the first in a series of annual outdoor exhibits planned at the Tree Adventure. Works created for Artisan Woods will be on display through Oct. 31.

Don’t miss it!

‘Exploring Trees Inside and Out’ Traveling Exhibit Opens in Atlanta

Looking for a cool, family friendly activity to do in Georgia this summer? Then be sure to check out the Nature Explore Traveling Exhibit, “Exploring Trees Inside and Out,” at Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta.

The traveling exhibit, presented by Doubletree Hotels, the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, recently opened at Imagine It!, and will be at the museum through September 13.

“Explore Trees Inside and Out” encourages family members of all ages to explore the beauty of the great outdoors through the incredible wonders of trees. The 2,500-square-foot exhibit is designed to create a better understanding among children age 2 to 10 about the significant role trees play in the environment.

At the exhibit, children will be able to crawl through a log and experience it as a habitat for other living things, help a seed grow into a young oak inside a huge acorn, explore a tree trunk, smell scents from various trees, and hear the sounds of animals that live in trees.

The traveling exhibit will move to Boston in September in 2009, and will travel throughout the country through the end of 2010.

Milestone planting for Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium

The Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium recently planted an acre of second-generation hazelnuts at the Horning State Farm near Plattsmouth, Neb. The Arbor Day Foundation, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Rutgers University and Oregon State University are members of the consortium.

The planting was a significant milestone for the consortium in that it represents more than 10 years of research from each institution. The goal of the consortium is to create a world-leading research and breeding program to turn hazelnuts into a large commercial crop.

It’s the hope of the consortium to expand the growing region of hazelnuts to include much of the United States and parts of Canada. Right now, 99 percent of all hazelnuts grown in the U.S. are produced in the Wilmette Valley of Oregon. The Oregon crop represents between 3-5 percent of the world’s hazelnut crop.

Second generation hazelnuts are being planted in Nebraska and New Jersey to determine how different climates affect how the plant grows and produces nuts, and to test the hardiness of the hybrids.

There are many benefits to planting hazelnuts. They require less water and fossil energy to produce large amounts of crops, they are a perennial crop and are highly adaptable to poorer soil, potentially making it an ideal crop for marginal agriculture lands.

To learn more about the Hybrid Hazelnut Consortium, go to http://www.arborday.org/programs/hazelnuts/consortium/.

Happy Arbor Day!

Today’s the big day! Go outside. Explore nature. Plant trees.

Arbor Day is the day to celebrate trees. Many communities throughout the country will be planting trees on today in observance of Arbor Day 2009. Trees help make our communities healthier, more vibrant and, obviously, more beautiful.

Arbor Day began 137 years ago in Nebraska City, Neb. J. Sterling Morton, the father of Arbor Day, helped organize the very first Arbor Day back in 1872, and more than a million trees were added to the Nebraska prairie that day.

This year the Arbor Day Foundation took part in our own local Arbor Day celebration, helping the City of Lincoln plant trees in a neighborhood park.

So how did you celebrate Arbor Day? Let us know!

Hardiness Zones

Tom Christopher of the New York Botanical Garden writes an interesting blog called Green Perspectives. Recently, he shared some of his thoughts on hardiness zone maps. You can read about them here: http://www.nybg.org/wordpress2/?p=215.