Sudbury Joins Largest Single-Day Volunteer Effort for Public Lands

Photo credit: Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge Facebook page

More than 175,000 volunteers will paint, plant, mulch and clean thousands of acres of public lands across the U.S. on Saturday, September 27 as part of the largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands in the United States, National Public LandsDay (NPLD). Volunteers will serve at more than 2,200 sites – at least one in every state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Events range in size from a dozen volunteers cleaning the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in Alamo, Texas to 75 volunteers painting “Tug Boat Dan” at the John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir in Boydton, Virginia to 850 Toyota employees building a brand new park and education center in Blue Springs, Mississippi to 1,500 rock climbers leading the 12th Annual Yosemite Facelift at Yosemite National Park in California.

In Sudbury, volunteers gather at Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge.

The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) created NPLD to help improve public lands and to educate youth and adults about their importance. For the past 21 years, millions of volunteers around the country have pitched in to spruce up some of America’s most precious treasures.

“Thousands of volunteers will visit their favorite parks, beaches, wildlife preserves or forests and chip in to help improve the lands and facilities that all Americans own, and that we use for recreation, education, exercise and just plain enjoyment,“ said Diane Wood, President of NEEF. “One third of America’s land is in public hands and NPLD offers everyone an opportunity to explore and give back.”

National Public Lands Day is a fee-free day on Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service lands. A fee-free day is when parks, refuges and rangelands offer free entry or waive the standard amenity fee for visitors. At participating sites, NPLD volunteers also earn a fee-free day coupon that they can use for another visit at any of the participating national parks within the next 12 months.

This year marks the 21st annual National Public Lands Day, an event that brings together thousands of volunteers from coast to coast to improve and restore the lands and facilities that Americans use for recreation, education, exercise and relaxation. NPLD has provided more than $17 million in contributed services by volunteers annually to public lands.

Seven federal agencies will participate along with more than 250 state, county, and city partners and a host of nonprofit groups, including the Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, Student Conservation Association and The Corps Network.

Article submitted by Taylored Communications