The happy family after their outdoor wedding ceremony at Arbor Day Farm.

It’s true! And on July 29, 2011, at 6:00pm, we had our first-ever wedding in the larger Nature Explore Classroom here at Arbor Day Farm. The happy couple is Trevor and Toni Dierkhising of Omaha, Nebraska, shown here with their sons Tyler and Jacob.

It was a lovely (warm!) summer evening, and we loved the bride’s choice of sunflowers, daisies, and wildflowers for her bouquet. They planned a beautiful ceremony set against a beautiful background of nature.

From all of us here at Arbor Day Farm, our sincere congratulations to the Dierkhising Family and may your marriage be protected by a sheltering tree.

That’s the conversation I have had so many times with my children. As a mother of four, I find myself developing a reputation and not even realizing it. My children’s friends know me as that weird mom who makes us stop just to see the sunset, or just to see the colors of the distant trees. 

I am the Family Reunion Sales Manager at Lied Lodge & Conference Center at Arbor Day Farm. My heart is my work and my work is in my heart — I truly love what I do. When offered the opportunity to be a part of the Arbor Day Foundation, I had no idea how parallel the mission of the Foundation ran with what I believed in my heart about life in general. Through the near decade of time that I have been ‘inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees,’ it seems, somehow, that I am the one who has truly been inspired.  Through years of growing, my second nature of sharing stewardship of our world, realizing with amazement to understand how a seed really works, and just taking a moment to appreciate life around us – no matter where we are – is a perfect fit. It is as if the mission of the Foundation and me were hand-in-glove.

I grew up on a farm blessed with hard work and some very strong family traits of character and integrity that run deep through our family tree. Somehow, we had fun no matter how difficult the days of sunshine and labor provided. We were truly making memories each and every day. With our family gatherings being frequent, I was steeped in the notion of strong family bonds securing traditions and tying us one to another – just by being together. 

With aging, I developed a desire to then build those same traits in my own family and pass them along to the next generation. Cultivating creativity and making our own fun is something that we had to do, although roller coasters were not at the end of the block, either. Yet, we sure did have fun rolling down a hill of freshly mowed grass and playing hide and seek in the mound of leaves that whirled in the fall breeze at the foot of the timber. Fostering family values is vital to me, as our family builds each other up, supports each other when we are down, and celebrates each other’s accomplishments. The culture of our family is well-rooted in the strength of laughter, hard work, simplicity and sharing who we are with each other. Family, faith and fellowship are what I have found as ‘what really matters.’
 
Through my growth at Arbor Day Farm, it seems that doors of opportunity continually have opened so I can share my core values with those that I work with on a daily basis. Although I thrive on busy-ness and a rigid schedule, it seems that I gain the most when I just take a moment.  Take a moment to stop everything – stop my busy day of running and scheduling to just take a moment…maybe to see the apple blossom that turns into the base of the core of an apple – or to feel the mid-summer breeze as the sun sets to the symphony of chattering crickets – how about realizing there is a gift of new life in dying leaves as they fall to the earth each season –recycling at its best!! Or, slowing down in our hurricane of daily life just long enough to hear- shhh- the snow fall…now that’s truly amazing!

No matter the season, my wish is that each of us has the chance to take nature at its daily gift, embrace it and pass that gift along to someone we care about in the next generation. There are so many things that are important in life, and what is most important, we need to share those things that ‘really matter’ in the heart of our natural world – the gift of life, the gift of family – now that’s priceless.

Tina Layman lives near Pella, Iowa, and is an off-site Sales Manager for Lied Lodge & Conference Center at Arbor Day Farm. Her favorite tree is the Catalpa and she shares joy in new blooms of petunias and impatiens.  Between raising four children (aged 7 to 25) and some community volunteering, she’s happy to enjoy time with her husband, Tom, working on their small farm and making it ’home.’  Send Tina an email

When my family and I relocated to Nebraska City two years ago from Central Gulf Coast Florida, we couldn’t have imagined the natural beauty and outdoor adventures in Nebraska that continue to amaze us even now.

We visited in March for a house hunting trip and were thrilled to experience a Nebraska snowfall during our visit. Honestly, I think the beautiful fireplace at Lied Lodge and the gentle snow were major selling factors for us. The excitement of snow and four distinct seasons charged the enthusiasm of our teenagers.

Upon our official arrival in July 2008, we set out to find our way in this new place.  As a native Floridian, I was enthralled by the rolling hills and plateaus of soybeans and corn in Nebraska, the vast blue sky and the symmetrical tree plantings around farmhouses. A visit to Arbor Day Farm Tree Adventure explained that the tree plantings were windbreaks. We received our free tree seedlings from the Lied Greenhouse and took them home to plant on our new homestead west of town.  My son named his tree “Bruce Spruce”, a fitting name for a Colorado Blue Spruce.

The Tree Adventure employees we met on our visit were Midwest friendly – which is to say – delightfully helpful and genuine people. I was recruited on the spot to become a tour guide. As a veteran teacher, the idea of going on field trips every day sounded wonderful.

As the school year began, I trekked the trails with groups of students – reveling in the cool shade of the massive oaks, marveling at the abundance of butterflies and enormous squirrels. Then one day, the bees swarmed out and the geese flew away. My fellow tour guides explained that these are tell-tale signs of autumn officially arriving. In Florida, fall arrives when the snowbirds roll in the week after the elections up north, so this “natural occurrence” caught me off guard.

The trees and vineyard started their glorious show. The apple trees literally appeared to be collapsing under their bounty. Sugar maples instantly became my favorite deciduous tree; the cottonwoods sparkled and the grand oaks each had their own succession of radiant colors.

As the leaves disappeared, the snow arrived. Peaceful and quiet walks in the snow replaced the crunching leafy trails of autumn. I was experiencing nature for the first time without any fear. In Florida, I had always watched the ground for snakes or alligators, but the forests of Arbor Day Farm were safe and inviting. I ventured off the trail and discovered hedge apples or Osage oranges. I could sneak up on turkey and deer, black squirrels and woodchucks. The fields and forests were guarded on high by hawks and eagles.

As the roofs began to drip, spring arrived at Arbor Day Farm. Buds began to sprout on the apple trees and the birds returned.  Imagine my amazement in discovering that a real, live oriole really does looks like the Baltimore Oriole mascot, and all this time I thought it was just a cartoon representation. Goldfinch and red-winged black birds reappeared. Much to my surprise, it seemed every plant had some sort of bloom – color was everywhere! I was accustomed to innumerable shades of green in tropical Florida, but spring in Nebraska City exceeded all my expectations. Crocus and peonies popped out of seemingly abandoned grass.  Apple blossoms popped open and back came the bees.

After my second, excitingly epic and snowy winter in Nebraska, I am eager for the natural opulence of spring again at Arbor Day Farm. I hope you’ll come experience it, too.

Heather Austin is a tour guide and tour coordinator at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, Nebraska. She leads hundreds of students and visitors through the forest to make natural discoveries of their own. Learn more about tours at Arbor Day Farm.