The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota are both celebrating their 50th anniversaries in 2008.

In honor of the occasion, they’ve joined together to plan an Earth Day Wilderness Walk from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 19, at the Arboretum.Staff from the Arboretum and The Nature Conservancy will lead the hike, which will highlight Minnesota’s diverse native flora, according to an Arboretum press release.

Hikers are asked to meet in the Arboretum’s Oswald Visitor Center. The nature hike is open to the public and gate admission (on April 19) will be waived for Nature Conservancy and Arboretum members and those who have downloaded a coupon from the Nature Conservancy website (nature.org/minnesota). The normal gate fee for non-members is $7 for adults. Youths 15 and younger are admitted free.

Upon completion of the walk, each participating family will receive a tote bag, courtesy of the Nature Conservancy. Participants also will receive a coupon for a free vitamin water from the Arboretum.

In addition, on Tuesday, April 22, the officially designated Earth Day, the Arboretum is offering free gate admission to carpoolers and everyone arriving on bicycles or in hybrid vehicles.

The Arboretum features more than 1,000 acres of gardens, model landscapes, and natural areas – from woodlands and wetlands to prairie – with extensive collections of northern-hardy plants.

For more information on the Conservancy’s Minnesota program, visit www.nature.org/minnesota. The Arboretum Web site is www.arboretum.umn.edu.