The April showers have arrived early, clearly announcing that spring is coming. That means Arbor Day is right around the corner.

Arbor Day is a national holiday dedicated to the planting and caring of trees. Last year a group of local businesses, led by Cornerstone Tree Care and Suntree Tree Healthcare, gathered to care for the trees of Haven Park in Portsmouth. The two companies scaled trees over ninety feet high to prune deadwood and rid the trees of disease and blight.

In all, six local tree care companies donated their time, and several other local businesses donated supplies and food to turn this day of service into one of equally fervent celebration.

At the end of the day, the Portsmouth Brewery hosted a dinner for the entire crew which included a much-enjoyed round of drinks.

This year Arbor Day will again be celebrated by the local tree care businesses of Portsmouth -- Cornerstone and Suntree included. When asked how the idea of donating an entire day of labor to the city of Portsmouth for Arbor Day came about, Micum Davis of Cornerstone Treecare quipped, “I saw a need in the community. The wonderful trees needed to be better taken care of with professional care”.

Davis wanted to create awareness in the community about how important it is to correctly care for trees. The best methods of tree care were researched and founded by Alex Shigo, who according to Davis is the father of modern arboriculture, and is widely considered “THE pioneer” in tree biology. Shigo and his family lived in Durham, NH.

The tree companies will be helping out a new park in Portsmouth this year: Peirce Island. According to Davis, there’s a lot of activity in the dog walking area, where the arborists will focus their efforts on removing hazards, pruning over the walkways, and doing healthcare pruning.

For the last ten years Portsmouth has been recognized as a Tree City USA, a special status that is awarded to cities that display a commitment to sustaining and caring for trees.

Davis is hoping that this year the event will help the community of Portsmouth “recognize the importance of their trees, and the value of caring for trees in the right way to prolong the life of their trees”.

Cornerstone Tree Care and Suntree Tree Healthcare are both certified green companies, having joined the Seacoast-based Green Alliance, which works with local companies to encourage more sustainable business practices.

To read more about Cornerstone Tree Care click here!

To read more about Suntree Tree Healthcare click here!