2014 Plant a Tree at Flight 93

Date: April 1, 2014
Contact: Mike Litterst, 202-306-4166
Contact: Alanna Sobel, 202-354-6486

Hundreds of Volunteers Honor the Heroes of Flight 93
During National Park Week

MEMORIAL CONTINUES RESTORATION EFFORT WITH THIRD MASSIVE TREE PLANTING EFFORT

Shanksville, Pa. - On April 25-26 the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation, and Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial are continuing a major reforestation effort that will eventually result in 150,000 new trees at Flight 93 National Memorial, which commemorates the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 and remembers all those lost on September 11, 2001.

Every year during National Park Week, America's national parks host public events and coordinate volunteer opportunities to celebrate the special occasion. For a third year, Flight 93 National Memorial will honor National Park Week with Plant a Tree at Flight 93.

The tree-planting events will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 25-26. Businesses and organizations have already committed to providing more than 150 volunteers each day, but 50 additional individuals are still needed each day to complete the work. All interested volunteers must pre-register online (first-come, first-serve) and be at least 14 years of age.  Flight 93 National Memorial will still be open to the public during regular visiting hours (9 a.m. to 7 p.m., with last entry at 6:30 p.m.) on the days of the tree-planting effort.

The previous two years' reforestation efforts consisted of hundreds of volunteers planting nearly 28,000 seedlings. This year, a team of more than 400 volunteers under the guidance of tree-planting experts will have the special opportunity to continue this effort and plant an additional 20,000 seedlings over 30 acres at the memorial. These trees, which are a mixture of several native species, will form an essential windbreak to protect trees planted in nearby memorial groves. 

Many sponsors have joined with the National Park Foundation to make this effort possible including Alcoa Foundation, Arbor Day Foundation, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Roy A. Hunt Foundation and The UPS Foundation.

Additional National Park Service partners include the American Chestnut Foundation; Appalachian Regional Commission; Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative; Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service; Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Green Forests Work; Home Depot; Indiana University of Pennsylvania;Penn State University;Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry; Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation; Pennsylvania Game Commission; Rosebud Mining Company; Starbucks, Somerset.

In addition to the Flight 93 National Memorial, other parks in Western Pennsylvania will also be hosting their own National Park Week events. For a full listing of all National Park Week events in Pennsylvania and across the country, go to www.nationalparkweek.org.

For more information about how to support Flight 93 National Memorial, visit www.nps.gov/flni.

ABOUT FLIGHT 93 NATIONAL MEMORIAL
On September 24, 2002, President Bush signed into law the Flight 93 National Memorial Act. The Act created a new national park unit to commemorate the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who, on September 11, 2001, courageously gave their lives thereby thwarting a planned attack on our nation's capital. The memorial is near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed with the loss of its 40 passengers and crew. For information on how to make a donation and help build the memorial, go to www.honorflight93.org. 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 401 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at: www.nps.gov.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
The National Park Foundation is the official charity of America's national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and INSPIRE the next generation of park stewards. Find out more and become a part of the national park community at www.nationalparks.org.

###