The office for the Salt Lake Cemetery in Salt Lake City, Utah.

A simple rule to live by….
Pick Up the Stick!
Don’t ask who put it there…
Don’t ask who it belongs to…
Don’t ask if everyone else has picked up as many sticks as you have…
Don’t ask if it is your job to pick it up…
Just Pick Up the Stick!
If you pick up the stick you will find that the next person will pick up the stick and so on and so on… pretty soon there will be no sticks to pick up. Even if you are the only person picking the sticks up some day there will be no more sticks to pick up… and the world will be a better place for it! So in your day to day activities take time to bend down and just Pick Up the Stick!
-Sexton Mark Smith

Mark Smith Memorial Arboretum
at Salt Lake City Cemetery

Since the Salt Lake City Cemetery’s establishment in 1847, Mark Smith was the 31st and longest serving Cemetery Sexton, overseer of the cemetery operations. Mark was truly dedicated to his role and loved sharing the beauty of the cemetery with others. The creation of an arboretum within the cemetery grounds was his vision and one of the ways he wanted to connect members of the public to this historic site.

An arboretum is a collection of a variety of woody plants, primarily trees, grown and maintained for educational, scientific, and ornamental purposes. Creating a Memorial Arboretum in Mark’s honor is a formal recognition of Salt Lake City’s commitment to preserving and enhancing this site as both an active cemetery and a public open space. This arboretum collection on cemetery grounds is meant to be peacefully and respectfully enjoyed by all visitors since it encompasses many of the natural, historical, and recreational resources that Salt Lake City has to offer, especially its wonderful trees.

“The Salt Lake City Cemetery is not just a resting place for the dead, nor solely a historic site; the cemetery is one of Salt Lake City’s most significant green spaces open to the public 365 days a year free of charge. Over the decades, the cemetery has had a profound effect on the health of the local ecology and the wellbeing of the surrounding and visiting public.” – Mark Smith

See the Forest for the Trees
Salt Lake City’s urban forest was established more than 170 years ago by individuals who recognized the integral role that trees would play in transforming the barren Salt Lake Valley into a comfortable and beautiful place to call home. Today, this urban forest is comprised of nearly 100,000 trees providing numerous social, economic, and environmental benefits that are vital to the health and livability of Utah’s capitol city. Planted with purpose, nurtured with hope, and strongly rooted in a commitment to a better tomorrow, Salt Lake City’s urban forest stands as an exceptional, living illustration of the enduring connection between trees and people.

Did you know?
Trees help improve air quality. Their leaves filter the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and several other air pollutants. A mature tree can absorb more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide and release 260 pounds of oxygen into the atmosphere each year!