For Immediate Release Contacts: Jenny Brown, 202-536-5798
New
local leaders sought for national fix-up day
on
National Public Lands Day, sponsored by
to lead volunteer
efforts, from remote wilderness to inner-city playgrounds
A special push is
underway to find urban parks and playgrounds that need help this Sept. 30, as
the program expands further at the local and state level.
The annual fix-up
day, sponsored for the eighth straight year by Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc.,
has become the largest volunteer hands-on event of its kind in the country.
Volunteers may help build a footbridge on a scenic trail, plant seeds of native
grasses, test water quality, or clean up a lake’s shoreline.
“It’s one of the
most inspiring ways to get back to the land – and a third of
The event is an annual program of the National
Environmental Education and Training Foundation. Last year, 80,000 people
turned out at 800 locations. Their experience keeps
alive the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which enrolled 3 million
Americans in fixing up public lands in the 1930s.
"Healing the broken bond between our young and
nature is in our self-interest,” says this
year’s national spokesman, Richard Louv, author of
the bestselling book, Last Child in the
Woods, recently out in paperback. “Not only because aesthetics or
justice demands it, but also because our mental, physical, and spiritual health
depends upon it,” he writes.
Those interested
in organizing a project or volunteering can call 800-VOL-TEER
(800-865-8337), or go to www.publiclandsday.org. The
website offers tips for site organizers and more information for the news
media.
The National Environmental Education & Training Foundation was chartered
by Congress in 1990 as a private nonprofit organization to develop and support
environmental learning programs to meet social goals and build partnerships
among government, the private sector and
non-governmental organizations.