Up and at 'em! Saturday, Sept. 23 is the ideal day to lace up your hiking boots and head out to improve America's public lands.
This 30th annual National Public Lands Day will bring together thousands of volunteers to help build bridges and trails, improve wildlife habitats, eliminate invasive species, pick up trash and plant trees.
In 2008, volunteers planted an estimated 1.6 million trees and removed trash at nearly 1,900 sites. Workers at Canyon of the Ancients National Monument in Colorado dismantled a damaged water catchment device.
Volunteers will work in parks and forests, at rivers, lakes and wetlands. In 2023, the focus will be on water. Volunteers could be called upon to help with shoreline beautification, to stabilize stream channels, to improve boat ramps, or test water quality in streams and rivers.
National Public Lands Day is a program of the National Environmental Education Foundation. Program Director Robb Hampton says participation has grown dramatically since its inception in 1994. "That first year, we had 700 volunteers at a handful of public sites. This year we're expecting more than 130,000 at about 2,000 locations."
A partial listing of large-scale projects planned for National Public Lands Day can be found at www.publiclandsday.com. You can check by ZIP code or by state.
Make sure to take your camera. Participate in the photo contest to show everyone what a group of dedicated volunteers can accomplish. Winning photos will be used for National Public Lands Day promotions.
