GREENFIELD — In recognition of Arbor Day, the city’s Tree Committee and the Department of Public Works will plant a honeylocust tree near Kostanski Funeral Home, a business that has been a key supporter of the Tree Committee for roughly 20 years.

According to Tree Committee member Mary Chicoine, Kostanski Funeral Home has donated $24,000 to the Tree Committee since 2005. Friday’s tree planting, to be held at noon at the corner of Federal Street and Woodleigh Avenue, will serve as a tribute to the business for its years of support.

“It’s kind of symbolic of starting the planting season. … We chose this tree because they’re very beautiful trees, and they’re native to the U.S.,” Chicoine said of the honeylocust. “We also chose it because it has very small leaves, so it’s very easy to clean up in the fall when the leaves fall.”

Arbor Day began in 1872, when newspaper editor J. Sterling Morton proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture that a special day be set aside for the planting of trees. On the first Arbor Day, celebrated on April 10, 1872, prizes were offered to counties and individuals who planted the most trees. It was estimated that more than 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska that day.

Kostanski Funeral Home co-owner Britney Gioules said she has regularly attended the Greenfield Tree Committee’s annual Arbor Day plantings, and she is grateful to Chicoine and the DPW for holding this year’s tree planting at her business. To her, the tree will serve as a tribute to the community members the business has laid to rest.

“It’s very exciting. ... It kind of represents all the families that we serve in the community. It’s a nice tribute to them,” Gioules said. “Families really appreciated us donating [to the Tree Committee] on behalf of their loved one who passed. They thought that was a really special thing, so we just continued the tradition of doing that.”

In an event separate from the city’s Arbor Day planting, Chicoine said the Tree Committee will use a $4,000 donation from The First Church of Deerfield to plant another 24 trees on Woodleigh Avenue.

In neighboring Montague, the Tree Advisory Committee invites volunteers to show up with work gloves to help plant trees throughout town on Friday and Saturday.

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“As the global mean temperature continues to shatter previous benchmarks for the hottest year on record in 2022, 2023 and 2024, everyone, everywhere in the world needs to plant more trees and protect young trees so they will grow to reach maturity,” Montague Tree Advisory Committee member David Detmold said in a statement. “Trees are our first and best line of defense against climate chaos and global warming.”

The planting schedule is as follows:

■Friday, 9 a.m. — Fairway Avenue Cemetery in Montague City.

■Friday, 10 a.m. — Highland Cemetery in Millers Falls.

■Friday, 11 a.m. — Meet at 25 11th St. to plant three trees in the Patch neighborhood.

■Friday, 3 p.m. — Corner of Fifth and L streets.

■Saturday, 10 a.m. — Across the street from 29 Main St., near the town common in Montague Center.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.

An earlier version of this article included an incorrect location for one of the Montague tree plantings. A tree will be planted at the corner of Fifth and L streets on Friday at 3 p.m.