Local Volunteers Needed to Pitch in on National Public Lands Day

Date: September 15, 2006
Contact: Adam Prato, [phone]

Local volunteers are needed to roll up their sleeves to cut woody shrubs and pick prairie seeds from the tall grass prairie at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site on Saturday, September 30 from 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. As part of the annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD), there will be free admission to the National Historic Site and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Sponsored for the eighth consecutive year by Toyota Motor Sales USA, NPLD gives Americans an opportunity to give back to the very lands they use to hike, bike, climb, swim, explore, picnic, or just plain relax.

“You get to do something patriotic and you also get a good workout,” said Robb Hampton, Director of National Public Lands Day, which is a project of the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation. As many as 100,000 Americans are expected at 1,000 sites across the United States for NPLD in 2006, preserving and protecting their favorite public places for themselves and future generations.

Volunteers who participate in the work day at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site will receive a coupon for free admission to a National Park Service area at a later date.

Meet at the National Park Service Visitor Center at 12:30 p.m. to sign up. Work will last from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Dress for the weather. Wear work clothes and boots or sturdy footwear. Bring gloves and water. Sunglasses and sunscreen are recommended. Call Adam Prato at [phone] for more information.

National Public Lands Day is managed by the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation. Chartered by Congress in 1990, NEETF is a private nonprofit organization that develops and supports environmental learning programs to meet social goals and builds partnerships among government, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. NPLD maintains the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps, an army of 3 million Americans who in the 1930’s countered the devastation of the Dust Bowl and the American chestnut blight by planting more than 3 billion trees, building 800 state parks, and fighting forest fires. National Public Lands Day sites, activities, contacts, and downloadable photos from past events are available in the Media Center section of www.publiclandsday.org, or by calling 1-800-VOL-TEER (800-865-8337).

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. Both are off of I-80 at exit 254 in West Branch, Iowa.