Over 100 Corps Members and Staff Participate in The Corps Network's Great Outdoors Day of Service

Group photo of participants from The Corps Network's Great Outdoors Day of Service

Photo Courtesy of The Corps Network

On June 27, more than 130 corps members and staff participated in The Corps Network’s 10th annual Great Outdoors Day of Service at Greenbelt Park located in Maryland. This event celebrated Great Outdoors Month, which takes place each June.

All hands were on deck with volunteers contributing three hours each. For some, it was their first time working on a maintenance project. More hands make lighter work. Conservation organizations in attendance included Civic Works (MD), Earth Conservation Corps (DC), Harpers Ferry Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center (WV), Latin American Youth Center – Montgomery County Conservation Corps (MD), Maryland Conservation Corps (MD), New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg (NJ), and the Student Conservation Association (National). The National Park Service identified mission critical projects for the volunteers to support. Some groups painted the inside and outside areas of the restrooms, others removed invasive species, and the last group cleared debris and cleaned up campsites.

Before heading to the work site, all participants gathered together for welcoming remarks followed by a safety talk from Rebecca George (NPS). The speakers were Mary Ellen Sprenkel, President and CEO of The Corps Network; Michael Commisso, Acting Superintendent of National Capital Parks-East; Joshua W.D. Coursey, Senior Advisor to the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Rita Moss, Associate Director for Workforce at the National Park Service; and Jennifer Bastress Tahmasebi, Interim Agency Head of AmeriCorps. They shared the importance of getting people of all ages involved with protecting our public lands, especially future generations.

Over the years, The National Park Service has collaborated with the Corps Network to select a different park site in the National Capital Region to give back to during the Great Outdoors Day of Service. Past locations include the National Mall, Rock Creek Park, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove, Fort Dupont, and Fort Washington. Learn more about this day. See photos from the event.