Guest Column: Trees are keys to environmental protection

This spring, I invite you to take a moment to engage with nature. Look around your neighborhood, your local green space, a local wild-scape, or even your own backyard, and you’ll find that trees are doing some of the most important environmental work in our community. Trees provide thermal refuge and habitat, offering food, shelter, and nesting sites for birds, pollinators, and other native wildlife. 

Bringing awareness to trees has been a long-standing tradition in the United States. For more than 154 years, the wonderful springtime tradition known as National Arbor Day has been observed on the last Friday in April. Since its founding in Nebraska in 1872, inaugural celebrations have resulted in the planting of more than one million trees—a testament to an early understanding that trees play a vital role in sustaining healthy landscapes and quality communities.

Today in central Oklahoma, the newly formed Arboretum Collaborative is working to carry that legacy forward by championing trees. The Arboretum Collaborative brings together related organizations to promote conservation, advance tree planting, and support habitat preservation for wildlife and humans alike. We encourage the use of native plants, work to expand tree canopies to support wildlife, and host programs focused on restoration and environmental stewardship. 

The chief mission of the Arboretum Collaborative is to convene and align member organizations to advance conservation and protect biodiversity across the properties of Red Ridge Nature Preserve, Mollie Spencer Farm, Campbell Art Park at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, and Park House. This year, the collaborative has expanded to include SSM Health St. Anthony. Together, we work to advance conservation initiatives, protect natural resources, and increase biodiversity across all participating sites. Our internationally accredited tree collection includes dozens of native species, and we plan to expand the collection in the coming years. Each partner site contributes unique plantings that increase biodiversity and strengthen the resilience of the urban and native forest. 

The collaborative recently planted trees in the urban forest at Campbell Art Park, adjacent to the Oklahoma Contemporary. This project was made possible by our friends at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation through the Margaret Annis Boys Trust. We are grateful for the opportunity to plant trees and to honor our commitment to expanding the native and urban forests in central Oklahoma. 

Looking ahead, new projects will further extend this impact. The Eleanor B. Kirkpatrick Garden and Great Lawn, opening in 2027 at SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital, will provide a new green space designed for both restoration and education. Featuring shaded seating, walking paths, and diverse plantings, the space will also offer opportunities for self-guided exploration of the plantings and community learning.

Later this month, the Arboretum Collaborative will celebrate National Arbor Day with a series of public events focused on trees and the wildlife it supports. These programs offer a chance to connect with nature while learning how small actions, like planting and caring for trees, can make a lasting difference in your own backyard. We hope to see you there.

Join me in the months ahead as we continue to explore the natural world around us and discover just how much can be found, even in our own backyards.

Happy Spring and Arbor Day!