In 1594, the Spanish village of Mondoñedo celebrated the first documented Arbor Day and in 1805, the Spanish village of Villanueva de la Sierra celebrated the first modern day Arbor Day, organized by local priest Don Ramón Vacas Roxo who was convinced of the importance of trees for health, hygiene, decoration, nature, environment, and customs. In 1872, Nebraska City celebrated the first Arbor Day in the United States, organized by journalist Julius Sterling Morton who led the charge in the planting of approximately 1 million trees, 98 years before it became a federal holiday in 1970 under President Nixon.

The benefits of a healthy urban forest include improved air quality, storm water filtration, and a reduction in carbon dioxide, crime, energy consumption, heat island effect, and ozone formation. The City of Richmond is committed to urban reforestation, takes great pride in its beautification projects; and is requesting recertification as a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation. The City of Richmond is developing the Urban Greening Plan, a master document to guide and coordinate future greening projects that includes a living list of approved street trees, tree inventory, and urban forest best practices appendix.

To celebrate Arbor Day, on Saturday, October 16, 2021, the Parks and Landscaping Division and the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee engaged in a tree planting project at Bay Vista Park at 3455 Park Ridge Drive at the corner with the Richmond Parkway.