HPU Poll: North Carolinians Appreciate Trees But Could Support More Arbor Day Activities
HIGH POINT, N.C., April 23, 2025 – As Arbor Day approaches on Friday, April 25, a new HPU Poll of North Carolina residents shows strong support for the environmental benefits of trees, even as awareness of Arbor Day itself and participation in related events remain limited.
A majority of respondents value the environmental and aesthetic benefits trees provide. Seven in 10 North Carolinians (70%) said they value improved air quality “very much,” while two-thirds said the same about shade and cooling (66%) and wildlife habitat (66%). A clear majority also highly value trees for their beauty (61%) and their role in capturing carbon dioxide (61%).
Most North Carolinians (68%) believe tree planting is either “extremely important” (35%) or “very important” (33%) in combating climate change.
Despite these positive views, awareness and participation in Arbor Day activities remain relatively low. Just 39% of adults surveyed knew that National Arbor Day is observed on the last Friday of April, and only 27% reported ever having participated in an Arbor Day event such as a tree planting or community clean-up.
Tree planting on an individual level is also limited. While 28% of respondents said they had planted a tree in the last year, 70% said they had not. Awareness of community-level tree planting events is low as well, with 71% reporting they were unaware of such initiatives in their area.
Only 18% of respondents said they had donated in the past year to an organization dedicated to planting trees or conserving forests.
The findings suggest that while North Carolinians appreciate the many benefits trees offer, there is an opportunity to grow awareness and involvement in Arbor Day activities and environmental initiatives statewide.
North Carolina Residents – Awareness of National Arbor Day Date
Are you aware that National Arbor Day is observed on the last Friday of April each year?
Yes – 39%
No – 56%
Unsure – 6%
North Carolina Residents – Participation in Arbor Day Events
Have you ever participated in an Arbor Day event, such as tree planting or community clean-up?
Yes – 27%
No – 68%
Unsure – 6%
North Carolina Residents – Tree Planting in the Last Year
Have you planted a tree in the last year?
Yes – 28%
No – 70%
Unsure – 3%
North Carolina Residents – Awareness of Local Arbor Day Events
Are you aware of any Arbor Day events or tree planting initiatives in your local community?
Yes – 23%
No – 71%
Unsure – 6%
North Carolina Residents – Donations to Tree-Related Organizations
In the past year, have you donated to an organization dedicated to planting trees or conserving forests?
Yes – 18%
No – 78%
Unsure – 4%
North Carolina Residents – Value of Tree Benefits
How much do you value the following benefits of trees?
Improved air quality
Value very much – 70%
Value somewhat – 19%
Value not very much – 5%
Value not at all – 2%
Unsure – 4%
Shade and cooling
Value very much – 66%
Value somewhat – 22%
Value not very much – 5%
Value not at all – 2%
Unsure – 4%
Habitat for wildlife
Value very much – 66%
Value somewhat – 22%
Value not very much – 5%
Value not at all – 2%
Unsure – 5%
Beauty
Value very much – 61%
Value somewhat – 24%
Value not very much – 7%
Value not at all – 3%
Unsure – 5%
Capturing carbon dioxide
Value very much – 61%
Value somewhat – 23%
Value not very much – 7%
Value not at all – 3%
Unsure – 7%
North Carolina Residents – Importance of Tree Planting in Combating Climate Change
How important do you believe tree planting is in combating climate change?
Extremely important – 35%
Very important – 33%
Somewhat important – 24%
Not very important – 4%
Not at all important – 4%
Methodology:
HPU Poll 110 was fielded by the High Point University Survey Research Center on Feb. 23 through March 1 as an online survey using a panel of respondents recruited and maintained by Dynata. Dynata sent invitations to its panel of North Carolina respondents and the SRC collected 1,001 responses (an all-adults sample) on its Qualtrics platform. All respondents were asked two screening questions to identify them as registered voters. A total of 837 respondents identified themselves as registered voters. The SRC did all data analysis. The online sample is from a panel of respondents, and their participation does not adhere to usual assumptions associated with random selection. Therefore, it is not appropriate to assign a classic margin of sampling error for the results. In this case, for the all-adults sample, the SRC provides a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points to account for a traditional 95% confidence interval for the estimates (plus or minus 3.1 percentage points) and a design effect of 1.05 (based on the weighting). The all-adults data is weighted toward population estimates for age, gender, race, and ethnicity based on U.S. Census numbers for North Carolina. The High Point University Survey Research Center (SRC) produces weights through an iterative procedure within SPSS. Factors such as question wording and other methodological choices in conducting survey research can introduce additional errors into the findings of opinion polls.
Further results and methodological details from the most recent survey and past surveys can be found at the Survey Research Center website. Materials online include past press releases as well as memos summarizing the findings (including approval ratings) for each poll since 2010.
The HPU Poll reports methodological details in accordance with the standards set out by AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, and the HPU Survey Research Center is a Charter Member of the Initiative.
Dr. Martin Kifer, chair and professor of political science, serves as the director of the HPU Poll for the Survey Research Center.
Natalie Hinson is a research assistant in the Survey Research Center.