It's Your Arboretum Day is scheduled 1-4 p.m. May 30 at the Sehome Hill Arboretum. Activities will include music, storytelling, plant and bird identification and geology tours.

This annual event is sponsored by the Sehome Arboretum Board of Governors in conjunction with Western Washington University students enrolled in Geology 417 Outdoor Science Learning Resources.

Sehome Hill Arboretum is a 175.5 acre native plant arboretum where the general public can enjoy a Western Washington forest community. The Arboretum is jointly owned by Western Washington University and the City of Bellingham and is administered by the Arboretum Board of Governors. The long-range plan for the Arboretum is to allow the forest community to follow its natural successional path, undisturbed by the surrounding development.

The summit of Sehome Hill is 620 feet above sea level and a view tower provides spectacular views of the San Juan Islands and the Cascade Mountains. The hill was logged during the 1870s and is now covered almost completely by a lowland mixed forest characterized by Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, Western Red Cedar, Big Leaf Maple, Red Alder and Black Cottonwood as its most visible and larger species. There are approximately 5.9 miles of trails in the Arboretum many of which were originally constructed as roadways for logging, stone quarrying and pleasure driving. 

Access to Sehome Hill Arboretum is gained off Bill Mc Donald Parkway across from 25th Street. The headquarters for "It's Your Arboretum” Day will be in the Outdoor Learning Center located on the Huntoon Trail in the western part of the Arboretum.  Parking is available at the following locations:

• Upper Arboretum parking lot (off Bill McDonald parkway
• Lower Arboretum parking lot (off Bill Mc Donald Parkway)
• Fairhaven College gravel parking lot (off South College Drive)

Signs will direct participants to the Outdoor Learning Center.

It's Your Arboretum Day will include the following activities:

• Birding by Ear: May is a great month for experiencing the wonderful sounds of local resident birds and their far-traveled visitors. Learn to use your ears to identify thrushes, warblers, flycatchers, woodpeckers and more.
• Plants Both Welcome and Not: What is a native plant as opposed to an invasive? Have you ever wondered what happens after a clear cut?  Join Dr. John Tuxill as he leads the plant identification tour.

These tours will be conducted at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. so participants have an opportunity to attend both.

In addition, WWU Geology students will be leading Geologic Tours at requested intervals. These tours will show evidence in the rocks of a 50-million-year-old massive floodplain. Follow the geologic history of this ancient river system that includes coal deposits through the effects of a more recent mile-thick ice sheet that sculpted the present shape of Sehome Hill.

The event begins at 1 p.m. and kicks off with a host of activities for youngsters, such as juggling, face painting, tactile walks and storytelling.

Acoustic music will be provided by local musicians from 3:15-4:00 in the Outdoor Learning Center.