Support Your Parks on National Public Lands Day
Join the more than 180,000 volunteers around the country taking park in National Public Lands Day, the largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands in the United States. Volunteers will be working in parks, beaches, forests and wildlife preserves as a way to improve America’s treasured spaces.
At the Conservancy, every day is National Public Lands Day for us. Each week we have Garden in the Parks volunteer opportunities for anyone who wants to help improve Charleston’s public parks. This weekend, neighbors living near Corrine Jones Park are hosting A Picnic in the Park fundraiser for park renovations. Come out to the park from 4-7 p.m. for family activities and food. The community has been raising money all year for new playground equipment and additional park improvements. Check out all the details in the event listing.
National Public Lands Day started in 1994 with three sites and 700 volunteers. Today thousands of volunteers work on projects the last Saturday in September. Here are some stats from the work 170,000 volunteers did at 2,080 sites in 2010:
– Removed about 450 tons of trash.
– Collected some 20,000 pounds of invasive plants.
– Built and maintained about 1,320 miles of trails.
– Planted about 100,000 trees, shrubs and other native plants.
– Contributed about $15 million to improve public lands across the country.