An Earth Day Celebration at Camp Ripley [VIDEO, GALLERY]

Little Falls - The air was crisp, the sky blue, and it couldn't have been a better day for touring 53,00 acres of the Army National Guard's Camp Ripley, just outside of Little Falls.

The daywas held in advance of Camp Ripley's receipt of a national environmental programs award on May 1st in Atlanta, Georgia.

The day was definitely full; it opened with a press conference, and was followed by a tour of many different environmental projects and events, including:

• tree planting and campground cleanup
• a program that repurposes downed trees into free firewood for the families of military personnel, and
• the release of an injured owl, rehabilitated during the last couple of weeks and ready to fly

The day was appropriately - and beautifully - capped by a 35 minute Blackhawk Helicopter ride over thousands of pristine - and largely untouched - wilderness acres.

WJON's Abby Faulkner spent her day there - check out her video and photo highlights.