It has been over 135 years since J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day in Nebraska. His simple idea of setting aside a special day for tree planting is now more important than ever.

Namibia celebrates Arbor Day on 8 October.  Here’s a heart-warming story for all tree lovers:

To plant a palm is the job of a giant.  Such a ‘giant’ is Achim Lorenz, owner of Palms for Africa, in Swakopmund, Namibia.  He says some of the palms weigh tons and a man must know what he’s doing when dealing with these trees.

Achim knows his palms.  Ten years ago he began cultivating one thousand small palm plants on his land.  After approximately 3 years the palms were ready for the market.  According to him the palms sold like hot cakes.  He immediately planted another ten thousand.

Mr Lorenz said he saw many palms being merely chopped down and thrown onto the rubbish heap.  He rather wanted to preserve them.  So his next step was to buy the necessary equipment to unearth, move and replant these palms.  He encourages the community, businessmen and women and the mines in Namibia to make a contribution on Arbor Day, by buying a tree, and Palms for Africa will then plant them along the coast wherever there is a need for some shade.