News Release

Gateway National Recreation Area Selected as a 2025 Leave No Trace Spotlight

Date: June 16, 2025
Contact: Daphne Yun, 917 282 9393

Middletown, N.J. – The Leave No Trace organization has selected Sandy Hook as a 2025 Spotlight site. As outdoor areas, including Sandy Hook, continue to experience the impacts of record visitation, this new initiative from Leave No Trace shines a light on communities rising to meet this challenge with multi-day, onsite education and restoration initiatives. From June 19-21, 2025, Leave No Trace will be in Middletown, NJ with Gateway National Recreation Area to work with the community and local land agencies to deliver Leave No Trace education as well as partner on restoration and stewardship projects.

Local land agencies or community groups nominate sites for the Leave No Trace Spotlight initiative. The diverse sites chosen in 2025 span the country, each with unique environmental challenges. The initiative aims to equip each Spotlight area with relevant Leave No Trace tools that address the site’s impacts and foster healthy lands and people. The following events are free and open to the public, and we encourage people of all ages to attend. For more information visit Calendar - Gateway National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)

Leave No Trace Pop-Up Education & Outreach
Friday, June 20
11 am – 1 pm
Beach B Plaza

Leave No Trace Trivia & Social Hour
Friday, June 20
6 pm – 8 pm
Sandy Hook Chapel

Volunteer Stewardship Project - Beach Cleanup
Saturday, June 21
Beach B Plaza

About Leave No TraceUsing the power of science and research, education for all, and stewardship to support and protect nature, Leave No Trace is on a mission to ensure a sustainable future for the outdoors and the planet. The Spotlight program is the newest education offering from Leave No Trace. Learn more at www.LNT.org.
Facebook: @LeaveNoTraceCenter
Instagram: @LeaveNoTraceOrg
LinkedIn:@LeaveNoTrace

About Gateway National Recreation Area Gateway National Recreation Area is a large, diverse urban park with 27,000 acres spanning three boroughs and two states, New York and New Jersey. Gateway offers green spaces, beaches, wildlife and outdoor recreation, along with historic structures and cultural landscapes. It is the fourth most visited National Park Service unit, attracting more than 9.2 million visitors annually. For more information about Gateway, visit www.nps.gov/gate. Follow Gateway on social media - Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GatewayNPS.