News Release

National Public Lands Day 2021

Help take care of your public lands by volunteering!

NPS Photo

News Release Date: September 9, 2021

Contact: Heidi Dietze, 409-812-5121

KOUNTZE, Texas – On September 25, 2021, Big Thicket National Preserve will be taking part in National Public Lands Day (NPLD), the nation’s largest single-day volunteer event on public lands, held every year on the fourth Saturday of September. Volunteers at national parks give more than just hours on a time sheet. With their dedication and giving spirit, they play a vital role in preservation and protection, and greatly enhance the work of park staff.

Big Thicket will be hosting three events on September 25:

• Grasstopia – 9 am-12 noon – Volunteers and park staff will be planting grass as part of the park's multi-year effort to restore the land to how it was before the 19th-century arrival of the logging industry.
• Trash Blast – 9 am-11 am – Volunteers and park staff will be clearing a public riverside area of trash and refuse.
• A (Paint)Brush with Greatness – 9 am-12 noon – Volunteers and park staff will clean up and paint new bollards at a sand bar.

Volunteers are encouraged to wear long pants, closed-toe shoes, and long-sleeved shirts, and to bring bug spray and sunscreen. Park staff will supply all necessary tools for the events.

In recognition of their service, all who participate in any of the above events will receive a fee free coupon which will allow them a “fee-free” day at any participating federal recreation site within the next calendar year.

Due to rising COVID-19 cases in the local area, we are capping each event to 15 volunteers, so registration is required. Call Heidi Dietze, Volunteer Program Manager, at 409-812-5121, for more information and to register.

Big Thicket National Preserve is located in Southeast Texas, near the city of Beaumont and 75 miles northeast of Houston. The preserve consists of nine land units and six water corridors encompassing more than 113,000 acres. The Big Thicket, often referred to as a “biological crossroads,” is a transition zone between four distinct vegetation types – the moist eastern hardwood forest, the southwestern desert, the southeastern swamp, and the central prairies. Species from all of these different vegetation types come together in the thicket, exhibiting a variety of vegetation and wildlife that has received global interest.

-NPS-