If you're in the US like me, you've probably been at the gym all weekend attempting to recover from Friday's National Donut Day.
But recognising the calendar day officially dedicated to trees is 100% money-back guaranteed to make you feel more virtuous, not contribute to your diabetes risk and will likely make you feel less stressed. More on that last claim in a minute.
Since 1977, in New Zealand at least - we have recognised Arbor Day on June 5. The date happily coincides with the UN’s World Environment Day and is a date close to our hearts here at Showcase.
There’s a practical reason that the date differs around the world and that we have a June date in the Southern Hemisphere. That is, the soil conditions are generally good after the autumnal rain and trees have plenty of time to establish themselves before summer arrives and starts to dry things out.
As timing would have it, our friends at Trees That Count announced a fantastic government grant last week that promises them $6.6 million over three years, as they work towards their tree-rific goal of 200 million new native trees by 2027. Congratulations guys!
One of the things the grant specifically excludes though is a contribution to the purchase of actual trees, so Trees That Count still need funders like all of us to help. We look forward to continuing to play our small part with the help of our Showcase users.
If you’re thinking this all sounds well and good for Birkenstock wearing tree-huggers but fairly irrelevant to high-flying, city-based corporate executives like yourself, have a gander at this short article about the art and benefits of the Japanese Forest Bathing. Go on, now that you've finished rolling your eyes ;)
In short, just being in close proximity to trees promotes, "lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity" than city environments. These are health benefits we all could use more of I'm sure. For urbanites, even brief exposure to greenery - like a lunchtime walk in a city park - can relieve stress levels. So when you wrap up that next conference call, consider grabbing your lunch and heading for your closest green space. #topiaryastherapy
If this all sounds too hard, just log into your Showcase Workshop account for your next sales meeting and take comfort in the fact you just contributed to planting a few more trees.
Happy Arbor Day.