More than 1,000 trees and shrubs were planted at the green, sustainable business park. These included 12 large trees in a Tree Circle and 3 large trees positioned exactly on the border between the Netherlands and Belgium. Naturally, the minister also planted a tree. She helped child mayor Ties and the Zundert Children's Council plant the first tree in the Tree Circle. Mayor Joyce Vermue (municipality of Zundert), Marc Lodders (chairman of BCT/Treeport), Albert Verlinde (chairman of the Supervisory Board of the National Tree Celebration Day Foundation), Marleen van den Ham (Director of the National Tree Celebration Day Foundation), Water Board Chairman Kees Jan de Vet (Brabantse Delta Water Board), Provincial Executive Hagar Roijackers (Province of North Brabant) and Debbie Kamphuis (Dutch Forestry Commission) also helped plant this tree.

Working (with) Trees!

The theme of the 2022 National Celebration of Tree Celebration Day is ‘Working (with) Trees!’. The tree nursery sector is central to this theme. It lays the foundation for new trees and forests in the Netherlands and abroad. The theme shows how important trees are to people and how wonderful it is for children and young people to choose a career in the green sector.

Municipality of Zundert and Business Centre Treeport (BCT)

The municipality of Zundert and BCT are proud to be the host municipality and venue for the National Celebration of Tree Celebration Day in 2022, in partnership. The tree-growing sector is an extremely important sector in the local and regional economy. Zundert is known at home and abroad for its tree-growing sector: from nurseries to traders and transport companies. The theme ‘Working (with) Trees!’ therefore fits this green municipality very well.

The sector benefits enormously from promoting it among young people. By getting them enthusiastic, enough motivated and qualified staff will also be available in the future.

Tree Celebration Day 2023 in Amstelveen

While more than 400 pupils from Zundert and the town of Hoogstraten (Belgium) were busy taking part in workshops about trees, forests, soil, water, a liveable future and tree cultivation, Albert Verlinde (chairman of the Supervisory Board of the National Tree Celebration Day Foundation) announced during the invitees’ networking lunch which municipality would be the host municipality in 2023. Ralph Bogers, alderman for Economic Affairs and Sustainability of the municipality of Zundert, symbolically handed over the baton to Floor Gordon, alderman responsible for, among other things, greenery, sustainability, a healthy living environment, and nature and environmental education in the municipality of Amstelveen.

Forest Strategy

Since 2020, the Netherlands has once again had a forest and tree policy: the Forest Strategy. The ambition is to make forests more resilient, develop new forests (37,000 hectares; approximately 1% of the Netherlands) and strengthen the green-blue network across the landscape (approximately 10% of the Netherlands). This is a joint implementation process with the provinces, but municipalities, water boards and other landowners are also important to its implementation. As part of this Forest Strategy, the predecessor of Minister Van der Wal included a provision allowing children to help plant trees during Tree Celebration Day during school hours.

65 Years of Tree Celebration Day

The Dutch Forestry Commission founded Tree Celebration Day in 1957. The first Tree Celebration Day, then still called Tree Planting Day, was organised on 10 April 1957. That year, 1,600 pupils planted several hundred trees in Apeldoorn. Since then, Tree Celebration Day has grown into a phenomenon, with 100,000 children planting around 200,000 trees and shrubs every year. Over the course of those 65 years, approximately 5 million people have planted more than 13 million trees.

Under the motto ‘a tree for every child’, the National Tree Celebration Day Foundation aims to bring every child into contact with trees and forests, thereby helping them gain an understanding of nature. By planting a tree, children discover that they can take accessible action themselves to improve the climate and create a healthier living environment. This encourages them to make sustainable choices and commit themselves to nature.

Photo credit: Marco Magielse.