Volunteers Needed to Clean up and Preserve State Parks at California State Parks Foundation Earth Day Events
The California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) will fund 29 environmental improvement projects at parks statewide as part of the 12th annual Earth Day Restoration & Cleanup. On Saturday, April 25th, volunteers of all ages are needed to help restore the beauty of California’s treasured state parks. Now more than ever, community participation is critical due to continuing budget cuts and a variety of threats to state parks throughout California.
Statewide, thousands of volunteers each year plant native trees and community gardens, restore trails and wildlife habitats, remove trash and debris from beaches and parklands and make overdue repairs to fences and boardwalks. Since its inception in 1998, the California State Parks Foundation Earth Day Restoration & Cleanup program has had a tremendous impact - 63,000 participants have contributed over 265,000volunteer hours worth more than $5,250,000 in park maintenance and improvements. Including this year’s grants, CSPF, with the support of its sponsors, has awarded more than $1.1 million to state parks throughout California.
Volunteers will complete environmental improvement and maintenance projects in honor of Earth Day at 29 state and community parks across California, including 19 sites in Northern and Central California:
- Eastshore State Park - Alameda County
- Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline - Alameda County
- Mt. Diablo State Park - Contra Costa County
- Millerton Lake State Recreation Area - Fresno County and Madera County
- Patrick's Point State Park - Humboldt County
- The Park at Riverwalk - Kern County
- Angel Island State Park - Marin County
- Mt. Tamalpais State Park - Marin County
- Samuel P. Taylor State Park - Marin County
- The Big River Unit of Mendocino Headlands State Park and Mendocino Woodlands State Park - Mendocino County
- Auburn State Recreation Area - Placer County
- Folsom Lake State Recreation Area - Sacramento County
- Candlestick Point State Recreation Area - San Francisco County
- Caswell Memorial State Park - San Joaquin County
- Montaña de Oro State Park - San Luis Obispo County
- Half Moon Bay State Beach - San Mateo County
- Coast Dairies State Park - Santa Cruz County
- Shasta State Historic Park - Shasta County
- Clarksburg River Access Facility - Yolo County
“The Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup events are a wonderful opportunity for communities to come together and volunteer to beautify and preserve California’s state parks,” said Elizabeth Goldstein, President of the California State Parks Foundation. “Community participation in the Earth Day program is particularly important this year as state parks continue to face budget challenges that can delay these environmental improvement and maintenance projects.”
Individuals or groups interested in volunteering on Earth Day can call the Earth Day hotline at 1-888-98-PARKS or register online at www.calparks.org. A complete list of volunteer project sites statewide can be found on the Web site as well.
Presenting sponsor Pacific Gas and Electric Company, which is hosting 16 Northern and Central California sites, provided a $170,000 grant to CSPF and the participating parks for supplies and materials required to complete the Earth Day projects. Additional grant providers include: Supervalu/Albertson’s, Oracle, Edison International, Virgin America, Chevron, Earthgrains and Coca-Cola.
2009 media sponsors in northern and central California include: BiCoastal Media, Big Country 102.7, Clear Channel Sacramento, KPIX-TV (CBS, San Francisco), CBS13 and CW31 Sacramento, KEYT-TV (ABC, Santa Barbara), KGPE-TV (CBS, Fresno), KIEM-TV (NBC, Eureka), KKGN Green 960AM San Francisco, Auburn Journal, Eureka Times-Standard, Good Times of Santa Cruz County, and The Mercury News.
For information on California State Parks Foundation Earth Day 2009 Restoration & Cleanup events in Northern and Central California, including park contacts, times, locations and other details, please visit www.calparks.org.
About CSPF
With 100,000 members, the California State Parks Foundation is the only independent nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting, enhancing and advocating for California’s magnificent state parks. This year marks the organization’s 40th Anniversary. For more information about California’s state parks, visit www.calparks.org.
Editors, please note: Media interested in attending, covering or volunteering for the California State Parks Foundation Earth Day 2009 Restoration & Cleanup should contact Julia Spiess at (916) 658-0144, (916) 541-8348 or at julia@perrycom.com. Images are also available.
Contacts:
Perry Communications Group, Inc.
Julia Spiess, 916-658-0144 or
916-541-8348
julia@perrycom.com
