by Timothy Martinez Jr.
This Saturday is a day you can give back to those public lands where you’ve spent countless hours soaking up the sun, exploring, camping or simply relaxing.
Tomorrow’s event is known as the National Public Lands Day, which is the largest volunteer day for public lands in the United States. That means people all over the country are going to be heading outdoors to volunteer at a location near them.
If you think the NPLD is new and isn’t a big deal, think again. The NPLD started in 1994 with only 700 volunteers, but last year’s event featured 170,000 volunteers at 2,080 sites in every single state. We’re hoping to expand that number again this year.
Volunteering is more than simply picking up trash at these sites. You do things to improve conditions at your local camping or outdoor sites by maintaining trails, removing invasive plant species, plant trees and much more.
Since there are a vast number of sites, which you can find here, you won’t have to go too far to make a difference.
Despite the heavy rains here in New York City, I’m planning on heading over to Governor’s Island to help count bird species.
How are you planning on helping out this weekend?
