National Public Lands Day at Riverside Park

Save to Favorites

National Public Lands Day (NPLD) is the nation’s largest, single-day volunteer effort for public lands, and will take place on Saturday, September 28.

NPLD began in 1994 with three sites and 700 volunteers. It proved to be a huge success and became a yearly tradition, typically held on the last Saturday in September. Since the first NPLD, the event has grown by leaps and bounds.

Last year, about 169,000 volunteers worked at 2,100 sites in every state, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico.

NPLD volunteers:

• Collected an estimated 23,000 pounds of invasive plants
• Built and maintained an estimated 1,500 miles of trails
• Planted an estimated 100,000 trees, shrubs and other native plants
• Removed an estimated 500 tons of trash from trails and other places
• Contributed an estimated $18 million through volunteer services to improve public lands across the country

Seven federal agencies as well as nonprofit organizations and state, regional and local governments participate in the annual day of caring for public lands.

National Public Lands Day keeps the promise of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the "tree army" that worked from 1933-1942 to preserve and protect America’s natural heritage.

• NPLD educates Americans about the environment and natural resources, and the need for shared stewardship of these valued, irreplaceable lands;
• NPLD builds partnerships between the public sector and the local community based upon mutual interests in the enhancement and restoration of America’s public lands; and
• NPLD improves public lands for outdoor recreation, with volunteers assisting land managers in hands-on work.