Canton, Ogdensburg and Potsdam will celebrate the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day with local events co-sponsored by the Department of Conservation.

The DEC will commemorate the 43rd Anniversary of Earth Day with DEC-sponsored events around the state from April 19 through May 4, DEC Commissioner Martens announced today.

The earth-friendly activities include tree plantings, pharmaceutical collection events, litter clean up, and a variety of exhibits to educate New Yorkers on the importance of sustaining the environment.

“Earth Day continues to be a global movement to raise the consciousness of individuals, families, communities, businesses and government about how to co-exist with the environment in a sustainable manner,” said Commissioner Martens. "Every New Yorker has a role to play in ensuring future generations are able to enjoy the state’s natural resources and benefit from a clean environment. I encourage all New Yorkers to participate in some of the events to learn more about the state’s natural resources and practices we can make part of our daily lives to protect the environment.”

Earth Day was founded by Wisconsin U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 after he toured the devastation of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. On April 22, 1970 demonstrations by an estimated 20 million Americans advocated for a healthy, sustainable planet.

Local celebrations include:

•OGDENSBURG -- City of Ogdensburg Arbor Day Celebration at 9:30 a.m. 26 Hamilton Park, 806 Greene St.

For the 20th consecutive year, Ogdensburg has been recognized as Tree City USA. To celebrate, the City of Ogdensburg Tree Commission will plant a Tulip Poplar ‘Liriodendron’ tree in Hamilton Park. School classes from Sherman School will also attend the ceremony. DEC state foresters to assist in tree planting.

• POTSDAM --On April 24, Clarkson University’s NYS Pollution Prevention Institute’s student competition The “G2C - Go Green on Campus” 2nd Annual Student Competition includes teams from Syracuse, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute UB, RIT, Clarkson, Siena, Skidmore, CUNY-CSI, and the New School. Projects address on-campus sustainability such as rainwater harvesting, low-flow sink aerators, photovolataics, green infrastructure and residential composting. Additional details may be found at http://www.rit.edu/affiliate/nysp2i/rd-student-competition.

• CANTON -- The Village of Canton Arbor Day Celebration will be held at 12:30 p.m. at Bend in the River Park located at the end of Lincoln Street on the Grasse River. The village will celebrate its "Tree City" designation. There will be tree plantings in the honor of past village mayors with DEC’s Regional Forester.