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Governor
Cuomo Encourages New Yorkers to
Sign
Up for the Sixth Annual “I Love My Park” Day
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Online Registration
for May 6 Volunteer Day Now Open:
Sign Up to
Volunteer
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Event Details can
be Found at www.nysparks.com
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Albany,
NY – March 2017 / Newsmaker Alert / Governor Cuomo announces that registration
is now open for the sixth annual I Love My Park Day, to be held on May
6, 2017 at state parks, historic sites and public lands across the state.
The event, sponsored by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation
and Historic Preservation and Parks & Trails New York, is a statewide
event to enhance New York’s parks and historic sites and raise awareness
and visibility to the entire parks system and its needs. This year’s event
includes partnerships with the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation and the National Park Service, with volunteer events planned
at several locations in the Adirondack and Catskill regions and at five
national parks in New York State.
“New
York’s park system is second to none and is a premier showcase of the natural
beauty in every part of this great state,” Governor Cuomo said. “As we
approach the sixth annual I Love My Park Day, I encourage New Yorkers to
join us, enjoy all our parks have to offer, and help us to protect and
preserve our system for generations to come.”
Volunteers
will have the opportunity to participate in clean up events at more than
100 state parks, historic sites and public lands from Jones Beach State
Park to Niagara Falls State Park and covering all regions in between. A
full list of participating state sites is available
here.
Five
national parks across New York will participate:
-
Gateway
National Recreation Area (Great Kills, Staten Island and Plumb Beach, Jamaica
Bay, Queens);
-
Fort Stanwix
National Monument (Rome);
-
Roosevelt-Vanderbilt
National Historic Sites (Hyde Park);
-
Fire Island
National Seashore (Ocean Beach); and
-
Saratoga
Battlefield Historical Park (Stillwater).
An additional
fourteen properties managed by the Department of Environmental Conservation
in the Adirondack and Catskill Regions and at three environmental centers
will participate.
The
four environmental centers include:
-
Catskill
Interpretive Center (Mount Tremper);
-
Five Rivers
Environmental Education Center (Delmar);
-
Reinstein
Woods (Buffalo); and
-
Stony
Kill Farm and Environmental Education Center (Wappingers Falls).
Volunteers
will celebrate New York’s public lands by cleaning up debris, planting
trees and gardens, restoring trails and wildlife habitats, removing invasive
species, and working on various site improvement projects. The New
York State Commission on Volunteer and Community Service is joining
the effort again this year to help recruit volunteers, promote the initiative
and provide support to projects across the state. Members of the New York
State Excelsior Conservation Corps, a New York State AmeriCorps program
run by the Student Conservation Association, will help State Parks organize
and implement I Love My Park Day projects.
State
Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey said, “Governor Cuomo continues to lead
the transformation of parks and sites throughout the state with his NY
Parks 2020 initiative to invest $900 million in public and private dollars
to modernize our state park system. Our volunteers are vital partners in
this effort to make our parks and sites the very best they can be. I’d
like to thank Parks & Trails New York for organizing I Love My Park
Day, and look forward to again welcoming thousands of volunteers on the
first Saturday in May, all working together to enhance the parks we cherish.”
Parks
& Trails New York Executive Director Robin Dropkin said, “The renaissance
of New York’s State Park System, thanks to Governor Cuomo’s historic reinvestment,
is a joy to behold, as is the demonstration of support for parks by friends,
volunteers and partners on the annual I Love My Park Day. This year, on
the sixth anniversary of the event, we’re excited to spread the love to
some National Park and Adirondack and Catskill Park sites. Now, there are
even more opportunities to give back to treasured parks and historic sites
in every region of the state.”
Department
of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said, “DEC is thrilled
to again partner with State Parks and Parks & Trails New York to host
I Love My Park Day events. With triple the number of events on DEC lands
this year—from trails in the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserves to
popular campgrounds to urban escapes—there are more opportunities than
ever for New Yorkers to help steward and enhance our public recreation
lands.”
Registration
for I Love My Park Day can be completed by visiting www.ptny.org/ilovemypark/index.shtml.
Source
Document
Media
Contact:
Press
Office
518-474-8418
Press.Office@exec.ny.gov |