I Love My Park Day 2021

What is I Love My Park Day?

I Love My Park Day, held the first Saturday in May, attracts thousands of volunteers from across the state to participate in cleanup, improvement, and beautification events at New York State parks and historic sites. Join us to celebrate New York’s park system by cleaning up park lands and beaches, planting trees and gardens, restoring trail and wildlife habitat, removing invasive species, and working on various site improvement projects

I Love My Park Day 2021

I Love My Park Day—the largest single-day volunteer event in NYS—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 we are excited to be hosting a safe, in-person I Love My Park Day event. This year, in partnership with NY State Parks and DEC, PTNY will be hosting a more contained, two-day event on Saturday & Sunday, May 1st-2nd.

Volunteer registration is now open! See below for map and list of events as well as links to registration.
https://www.ptny.org/events/i-love-my-park-day

Minnewaska State Park Preserve: Sam’s Point Area (SATURDAY, MAY 1)
Start time: 10am
End time: 4pm
Meeting Location: Sam’s Point Visitor Center
Ages: Appropriate for ages 13+

Volunteer Project: Movin’ Rocks on the Verkeerderkill Falls footpath

This well-loved trail needs some TLC! We will be moving some rocks where the trail has been worn down making the foot bed of the trail more stable. Once the foot bed becomes more stable, it will be less appealing to trample the vegetation around the trail. This is a great project for those who want to get outside and put some love back into the trails you use, learn new trail work techniques, and make some new friends!
Please bring: Water, snacks if desired, and lunch. Safety glasses and work gloves will be provided, but please bring them if you have your own. Please be sure to wear appropriate footwear for the trail (sturdy hiking or work boots) and long pants. Lunch will be eaten out on the trail.
Ages: This volunteer opportunity is appropriate for adults and children who are at least thirteen years old, accompanied by a parent or guardian over the age of 18.

Questions?
Call: (845) 647-7989
Email: rebecca.howe@parks.ny.gov

Minnewaska State Park Preserve: Sam’s Point Area (SUNDAY, MAY 2)
Start time: 10am
End time: 2pm
Meeting Location: Sam’s Point Visitor Center
Special Instructions: Volunteers must start at 9:30 AM, but the end time is flexible.
Ages: Appropriate for ages 5+

Volunteer Project: Waking up the Sam’s Point Pollinator Garden

Spring is here and our garden is flourishing! The bees are buzzing, the butterflies are fluttering, and the flowers are blooming. Come help Sam’s Point Staff beautify and maintain our native plant garden. This project will be taking place in front of the Sam’s Point Visitor Center. Once the garden is complete, we will head out onto the trails to remove invasive plant species.

Please bring: water, snacks if desired, lunch, and garden gloves
Additional tools: trowel, hand rakes

Ages: This volunteer opportunity is appropriate for adults and children who are at least five years old, accompanied by a parent or guardian over the age of 18.

Questions?
Call: (845) 647-7989
Email: rebecca.howe@parks.ny.gov

Minnewaska State Park Preserve (SUNDAY, MAY 2)
Start time for all projects: 10am
End time for all projects: 4pm
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.

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+
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. It is recommended that volunteers bring work gloves, waterproof boots and clothes they don’t mind getting dirty, as this project may be muddy and wet. Volunteers are also encouraged to bring their own tools. This program is appropriate for children over the age of 13, accompanied by a parent or guardian over the age of 18.
Project location: Red Loop Footpath
Ages: 13+
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 work site, 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 crow bars. 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. This program is appropriate for children over the age of 13, accompanied by a parent or guardian over the age of 18.
Project location: Jenny Lane Footpath
Ages: 13+
Please bring: Garden Gloves

Additional Information: All participants must wear face coverings or keep a minimum of six-foot distance away from others who are not part of their immediate household.

Questions?
Call: (845) 255-0752
Email: Nicholas.Martin@parks.ny.gov

https://ptny.wufoo.com/forms/m1a1ogyh0x7ecrh/