THE Zamboanga City Government is making the necessary preparation to observe the Philippines Arbor Day on June 25.
The local celebration, dubbed as "Arbor Day na Ciudad de Zamboanga," will be highlighted with tree planting to be participated by all sectors.
The tree planting will be held at the Cesar C. Climaco Freedom Park in Mount Abong-Abong in the village of Pasonanca.
Belen Sheila Covarrubias, city hall information officer, said the tree planting on Arbor Day is provided for under City Ordinance 281, which calls for active public participation in the annual event.
Covarrubias said the activity will proceed with a commemorative program at 7 a.m. of June 25 that will be held at the Climaco Freedom Park.
Arbor Day is dedicated to the planting and conservation of trees.
History accounts showed Arbor Day was conceived in the 1870s by Julius Sterling Morton, a Nebraska newspaper editor.
Like many pioneers who settled the treeless plains of Nebraska, Morton believed that planting trees would help beautify the state of Nebraska, provide shade, and prevent soil erosion by creating windbreaks.
Morton proposed in 1872 a tree-planting day at a meeting of Nebraska's board of agriculture.
The first Arbor Day celebration was held on April 10 of that year, with prizes awarded to the individual or group who planted the most trees. (Bong Garcia/PR)