National Public Lands Day

Get out to our national parks and wilderness areas and give a little back!

Alright, peoples—its time to get your service on. That glorious day of volunteering is once again upon us: National Public Lands Day is TOMORROW, September 26th. Be there!

Eight federal agencies, all 391 National parks, and countless state and local lands participate in this day of giving back. Activities include: building trails and bridges, removing trash and invasive plants, and planting a lot of trees. Last year, 120,000 volunteers planted over 1.6 million trees, and worked to improve and refurbish public lands in 1,800 locations across the U.S.

This year, while thousands of smaller events will be taking place, organizers have chosen four signature sites to highlight this amazing day of stewardship. They include: the Lincoln Memorial (National Mall, Washington, DC), Golden Gate National Recreation Area (San Francisco, California), Angeles National Forest (Los Angeles, California), and Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site (Atlanta, Georgia).

The event (a project of the National Environmental Education Foundation) started in 1994 with the goal of living up to the Civilian Conservation Corps. "tree army" promise of protecting America's natural heritage. The NEEF also uses the day to educate Americans on the value of stewardship, and taking care of these amazing parks we are so lucky to have.

And—saving the best for last—entrance to all the national park sites on these days is FREE! Want to get involved? Check out the National Public Lands Day website to find an event near you. Go out there and make our CCC boys of yesteryear proud.

Will you participate in National Public Lands Day? Tell us where in the comments.

--Jordan Olmsted

National Public Lands Day (www.publiclandsday.org)

National Environmental Education Foundation (www.neefusa.org)

Photo via www.neefusa.org