Nebraska City Tourism & Commerce’s Arbor Day Committee is pleased to announce the 2024 Arbor Day Honoree and Tree Planter of the Year.
Sue Little, retired Nebraska City elementary school teacher and EDGE Nebraska City volunteer, has been selected as the 2024 Arbor Day Honoree. Drs. Nathan and Ashley Mueller of Lincoln are the 2024 Tree Planters of the Year.
“It’s always inspiring to read the nomination letters that come in,” said Nebraska City Tourism & Commerce Executive Director Amy Allgood. “There are some amazing people that work hard to make Nebraska City a better place.”
Arbor Day Honoree – Sue Little
Sue Little taught in the Nebraska City Public School system from 1979 to 2017, spending 25 years as a 5th grade teacher at Hayward Elementary School and 13 years as a 6th grade Language Arts teacher at the Nebraska City Middle School.
In her retirement, Little has maintained her connection with the school system by volunteering with EDGE Nebraska City. Little wrote and implemented EDGE’s “Super Citizen” program for 3rd and 4th grade students, inspiring students to build relationships with local volunteers and teaching them how to serve their community.
According to one nomination letter, Sue Little “has helped develop a culture of literacy and community for our citizens.”
Little is also a TeamMate, volunteers at her church, and delivers for Meals on Wheels.
In her spare time, she enjoys reading, walking, golf, pickleball, yard work, and spending time with her family. Sue and her husband, Mike, have three children and three grandchildren.
Tree Planters of the Year – Nathan and Ashley Mueller
Drs. Nathan and Ashley Mueller were both born and raised in Nebraska and have a passion for the land. In fact, their combined six higher education degrees are all in agriculture fields of study.
Nathan currently is the water and cropping systems Extension educator with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln while Ashley is a science officer for USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
A home landscaping project in 2020 led to a love of lilacs, which led to continued explorations and data gathering of the Lilac Grove at Arbor Lodge State Park.
As members of the International Lilac Society’s Preservation Committee, the Muellers have volunteered over 320 hours to revitalize, redesign, and catalog the 145 unique and rare lilac plants at Arbor Lodge.
Prestigious Tree Award
The 2024 Prestigious Tree is the mighty oak tree on the northwest corner of the Otoe County Courthouse at 1021 Central Ave.
A special recognition event will be held at the tree on Tuesday, April 23, at 9 a.m. following the Otoe County Board of Commissioners meeting. The public is welcome to attend.
A Commemorative Tree Planting to recognize Sue Little as the 2024 Arbor Day Honoree and Drs. Nathan and Ashley Mueller as the 2024 Tree Planters of the Year will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 26, at the Lilac Grove in the northeast corner of Arbor Lodge State Park. A reception hosted by The Friends of Arbor Lodge Foundation will follow the plantings.
Details on all weekend activities scheduled throughout the community can be found at NebraskaCity.com/festival/arbor-day.
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