A 10-foot-tall Northern Red Oak tree is being planted on the S.W. corner of the Temple of Justice on Friday, April 14, as part of a National and State Arbor Day celebration. The 30-minute event begins with a welcome from Department of Enterprise Services Director Chris Liu at 9 a.m., followed by remarks from Governor Jay Inslee and Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz.

In addition to the tree planting, the celebration will include a musical performance by children from the Capitol Campus Child Care Center and a short interactive lesson on the history of Arbor Day.

The Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm designed the state's Capitol Campus as well as New York City's Central Park and the grounds of the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. Their vision for the West Capitol Campus included large, deciduous trees on each corner of the Legislative Building and the Temple of Justice to frame and soften these magnificent buildings. The trees would also help create a sense of enclosure for the flag circle area, which is the welcome space for citizens to have a voice in the democratic process for Washington state.

For reasons unknown, a tree was never planted on the S.W. corner of the Temple of Justice. Planting this Northern Red Oak will help complete the original vision for these corner plantings and will match the red oaks planted across the way at the N.W. corner of the Legislative Building.

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