More than 1,000 second and third grade students from the mid-Michigan area will be on hand Friday, April 24, to help celebrate Arbor Day in Michigan. This event, sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Arbor Day Alliance and the city of Lansing, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Potter Park Zoo in Lansing.

Fifty-one pre-selected classes will participate in hands-on natural resource activity stations that focus on trees and their ecosystems. At 11:45 a.m., students, teachers, parents, dignitaries and community members will attend the Tree Planting Ceremony. The ceremony will feature a cross-cut saw race, juggling entertainment by Tim Salisbury, announcement of the state winner of the Arbor Day National Poster Contest and planting of the state Arbor Day tree, donated by Ayles Tree Service.

"Arbor Day is about celebrating trees. It also is about recognizing that these natural resources help provide us with clean air and water, homes for wildlife and beauty for communities," said DNR Forest, Mineral and Fire Management Chief Lynne Boyd.

Also in observance of Arbor Day, the downtown Lansing Public Library will be hosting an exhibit of Arbor Day art. Fifth graders from across Michigan submitted original posters to the Arbor Day Poster Contest that will hang in the library during Arbor Week, April 20-24.

For more information about the Michigan Arbor Day Alliance, the state Arbor Day Celebration, how to be selected for the 2010 celebration or other events around the state, please contact Rachel Wood, State Arbor Day Coordinator, at (517) 543-5848, or visit: www.miarbordayalliance.com.