Give Back on I Love My Park Day 2021

April 20, 2021
News

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Give Back on I Love My Park Day 2021

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I Love My Park Day—the largest single-day volunteer event in New York State—will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2021!

And whether this is your first or your tenth I Love My Park Day—welcome. With the ongoing pandemic, spring is going to look a little different, but Parks & Trails NY is excited to be hosting safe, in-person I Love My Park Day events. This year, in partnership with NY State Parks and DEC, PTNY will be hosting a more contained, two-day event on Saturday and Sunday, May 1 and 2.

The Trail Conference is hosting several events to help celebrate, improve, and enhance parks in our region. Sign up now!

The above photo is from I Love My Park Day 2017.

Saturday, May 1: Old Croton Aqueduct Invasives Removal with the Invasives Strike Force

Start time: 10 a.m.
End time: 4 p.m.
Meeting Location for all Projects: We'll be at the Old Croton Aqueduct - Croton Dam site.

RegistrationPlease sign up on the I Love My Parks Day website for the Minnewaska location.

Do you enjoy birds, butterflies, and wildflowers? Would you like to help protect them? Come help us remove invasive plants from this beautiful park!

Join the Trail Conference's Invasives Strike Force as we remove invasive plants as part of I Love My Parks Day at the Old Croton Aqueduct.
Anyone can participate. No experience is necessary; we provide on-the-job training. You will need to bring leather work gloves, plenty of water, and a lunch you can eat on the trails. We provide the tools. Group size is limited to 10.

Please sign up on the I Love My Parks Day website for the Old Croton Aqueduct location. 

Sunday, May 2: Minnewaska State Park Preserve

Start time for all projects: 10 a.m.
End time for all projects: 4 p.m.
Meeting Location for all Projects: Lower Parking Area at Minnewaska State Park Preserve

Special Instructions: Please let the Park Preserve staff know that you are volunteering for I Love My Park Day.
What to Bring: It is recommended that volunteers bring work gloves, waterproof boots, and clothes they don’t mind getting dirty, as this project area may be muddy and wet. Volunteers are also encouraged to bring their own tools. 

RegistrationPlease sign up on the I Love My Parks Day website for the Minnewaska location.

  • Volunteer Project #1: Volunteers will work with the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference members and Park Preserve staff to harden and repair the trail surface on the first half mile of the Mossy Glen Footpath. Deep puddles frequently form on this section of trail and hikers walk around the edges of these wet spots, widening the trail in the process. Volunteers will create rock crush and apply it to the trail to fill in potholes of this seasonally wet area.
    • Project location: Mossy Glen Footpath
    • Ages: Appropriate for 13+ (accompanied by a parent or guardian over the age of 18)
    • Please bring: Garden gloves
  • Volunteer Project #2: Volunteers will work with New York-New Jersey Trail Conference members and Park Preserve staff to install posts with trail blazes on a section of trail that wanders through a field. While the path is well-defined, this section of trail is missing trail blazes, which could confuse park patrons or encourage them to leave the trail. The goal is to clearly define the trail for hikers.
    Volunteers will use posthole diggers and shovels to create the holes to insert the posts, level the posts, and fill the holes back in. If weather conditions allow, volunteers will also paint these posts. Some tasks will be physically demanding and may involve carrying, lifting, and bending.
    • Project location: Red Loop Footpath
    • Ages: 13+  (accompanied by a parent or guardian over the age of 18)
    • Please bring: Gardening gloves
  • Volunteer Project #3: Volunteers will be working with New York-New Jersey Trail Conference members and Park Preserve staff to repair a section of the bog bridge on the Jenny Lane Footpath. Volunteers will perform, and assist with, the following tasks: carrying lumber one half-mile on the Jenny Lane Footpath to the worksite, removing broken boards, replacing broken boards, and carrying broken boards back to the project meeting point.
    Some tasks will be physically demanding and may involve carrying, lifting, and bending as well as using hand tools, such as hammers, hand saws, cordless drills, and crowbars.
    • Project location: Jenny Lane Footpath
    • Ages: 13+ (accompanied by a parent or guardian over the age of 18)
    • Please bring: Garden Gloves
    • Additional Information: All participants must wear face coverings or keep a minimum of a six-foot distance away from others who are not part of their immediate household.

Questions?
Call: (845) 255-0752
Email: [email protected]

RegistrationPlease sign up on the I Love My Parks Day website for the Minnewaska location.