National Public Lands Day (on Saturday, Sept. 26) puts thousands of volunteers to work across the nation making sweat equity on our common ground. As the largest single-day push to improve our parks, it is a day of grunts and learning.
Events are planned all over the country as well as in your backyard (the Austin Parks Foundation is one of the event sponsors).
Participants in the annual cleanup include national, state, and local parks. This is a good excuse to visit one of the 13 national parks in Texas. In Big Bend National Park they need help clearing brush in the Chisos Basin. It’s hard work with a great view.
Many of the state parks have activities planned for the day. Mother Neff State Park near Moody needs help cleaning up. Every skill level is needed to put a dab of lipstick on one of Texas’ oldest state parks.
At Padre Island National Seashore, outside of Corpus Christi, the rangers are looking for folks to help with the beach cleanup. The staff will have a brief program before the cleanup and free hot dogs when it’s finished.
National Public Lands Day began on the last Saturday of September 1994 with three federal agencies and 700 volunteers. Last year, 175,000 volunteers contributed more than $18 million in services. You can be a part of the monumental effort this year.
Whether you’re in Puerto Rico, Alaska, or Brownsville, there are special events outdoors this Saturday waiting for you at www.publiclandsday.org.
1,261st in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of “Day Trips,” is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 40312, South Austin, TX 78704.
This article appears in September 25 • 2015.
