Albany, NY - May 2, 2015 - Ninety-five New York State Parks and Historic Sites are hosting volunteer events today, Saturday, May 2, as part of the fourth annual I Love My Park Day. I Love My Park Day is an exciting statewide event to improve and enhance New York’s state parks and historic sites and bring visibility to the entire state park system and its needs. More than 6,000 volunteers are expected at 95 state parks and historic sites across New York to participate in cleanup, improvement, and beautification events.

New York State is a leader in parks and conservation because of a long history of stewardship and generosity of private citizens who believed in the importance of parks. With a surge in visitation to over 62 million people annually, grassroots Friends groups and volunteers are more important than ever to keep parks beautiful, clean, and welcoming for all to visit and enjoy. 

This year volunteers of all ages will help improve parks and historic sites through nearly 200 projects. Projects range from general park clean-up, and invasive plant and species removal to beautification efforts such as flower and tree planting, weed removal, reseeding, painting, installation of benches and picnic tables, trail maintenance, and much more.

Robin Dropkin, Executive Director of Parks & Trails New York, said: “New York’s park legacy is a responsibility handed down from one generation to the next. Through I Love My Park Day, New Yorkers are able to step up and do their part for their parks. Parks help us all stay healthy and active, and by working together we can make them even better.”

I Love My Park Day is coordinated at the statewide level by Parks & Trails New York (PTNY) in partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP). At the park level, Friends groups and park staff oversee cleanup, improvement and beautification projects and work with volunteers.

I Love My Park Day is supported by major new and continued statewide partners and corporate and media sponsors including: New York State Commission on National and Community Service; AT&T; Con Ed; Toyota; Harney & Sons; America’s Best Value Inn; Brookfield; Corning; M&T Bank; Price Chopper; the PHILA, Student Philanthropy Group from Emma Willard; Time Warner Cable News; Buffalo News; Times Union; and Long Island.com.

“Every New Yorker who picks up a paintbrush or a rake on ‘I Love My Park Day’ embodies the spirit of service we see in our AmeriCorps members across the State,” New York State Commission on National and Community Service - New Yorkers Volunteer Executive Director Linda Cohen said. “This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize their outstanding efforts, and to inspire the next generation of volunteers who will carry on that legacy.”

“New Yorkers love their parks, and it’s not a surprise that ‘I Love My Park’ Day has tripled in size since its inception in 2012,” said Marissa Shorenstein, president of AT&T New York.  “AT&T salutes the good work of the thousands of volunteers who are pitching in today at 95 parks across the state, cleaning beaches and shorelines, improving trails, painting fences, clearing debris and making parks more accessible.”

For more information on I Love My Park Day and a complete list of participating locations, please click here.

About Parks & Trails New York: Parks & Trails New York is the leading statewide advocate for parks and trails, dedicated since 1985 to improving the health and quality of life of all New Yorkers by working with community organizations and municipalities to envision, create, promote, and protect a growing network of parks, greenways and trails throughout the state for all to use and enjoy. For more information, please click here.