The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is offering free tree seedlings to every fourth grade student in Wisconsin as part of its annual Arbor Day tree planting program.
Wisconsin fourth grade principals, teachers and homeschoolers can now place seedling orders and coordinate delivery by completing the 2026 Arbor Day application by March 16, 2026.
Since 1984, every fourth grade student in Wisconsin has been eligible to receive a free tree seedling from state nurseries to complement Arbor Day observations and celebrations.
Through its fourth grade Arbor Day tree planting program, the DNR provides interactive education to Wisconsin students about the importance of trees in the environment. Annually, the DNR provides about 50,000 free tree seedlings to fourth grade students throughout the state.
Seedlings come protected to keep backpacks clean, and shipments include educational information on how to best plant and care for seedlings and trees.
“Trees provide a variety of benefits to both people and the planet,” said Heather Berklund, DNR chief state forester. “From filtering pollution and runoff and providing clean air and water to offering shelter and food for wildlife and giving us essential household products we use every day, it’s important that we continue to teach our youths and the public about the importance of growing, managing and regenerating our forests for all of us to enjoy today and into the future.”
Any tree seedlings planted will also get Wisconsin closer to its Trillion Trees Pledge of planting 100 million trees across the state by 2030.
Arbor Day, an annual observance promoting tree planting and care, has been celebrated in Wisconsin on the last Friday of April since 1883.
For more information, call Carey Skerven at the Griffith State Nursery at 715-424-3700.
