PTNY Springs Into Action

Canal Clean Sweep

Volunteer groups from across the Canal Corridor once again displayed their dedication to the Canal and Canalway Trail system with more than 100 Canal Clean Sweep events on Earth Day weekend and other dates. This year's Clean Sweep, the 12th annual "spring cleaning", had added significance as it kicked off celebrations for the Erie Canal Bicentennial. What better way to show appreciation for the historic waterway than by enhancing the recreational assets (trails, canalside parks and historic attractions) that will be features of the Canal's next 200 years! "Thank you" to all the great organizers and volunteers who make Clean Sweep a fun and meaningful event!

VIEW CLEAN SWEEP EVENT GALLERY

I Love My Park Day - A Record Breaking Year!

Thanks to the nearly 8,000 volunteers who pitched in on Saturday, the sixth annual I Love My Park Day was a huge success. With your help, we accomplished so much.

More than 125 State Parks, Historic Sites and Public Lands Enhanced

Volunteers took part in more than 250 cleanup, improvement, and beautification projects at over 125 state parks, historic sites, and public lands in every corner of the state.

• For the second year, Parks & Trails New York and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation joined with the Department of Environmental Conservation, the National Park Service, Excelsior Conservation Corps and the New York Commission on Volunteer and Community Service to organize and promote I Love My Park Day
• 105 State parks and historic sites hosted events all over the state, from the shores of Montauk Point State Park doing beach cleanup to the western part of the state in Niagara Falls State Park, staining the railing to the Cave of the Winds and all the way up towards Canada at Point Au Roche State Park completing park improvements and much more across the state
• 16 DEC locations participated this year, with projects varying from raking debris, weeding, tree planting, trail clean-up, marking trails and invasive species removal
• 5 National Park sites participated this year, including ocean shore cleanup along the Fire Island National Seashore, cleaning 19th century monument markers at Saratoga National Historic Park and cleaning barracks and fort rooms at Fort Stanwix National Monument
• Members of the Governor’s Excelsior Conservation Corps were deployed to 10 parks across the state
• More than 300 AmeriCorps members volunteered at 46 different state parks, historic sites and public lands

Headlines Tout Love for Parks
Governor Cuomo's invitation to all New Yorkers to volunteer on Saturday put our state parks and public lands, their needs, and the strong public support for them in the public's eye. Stories ran in print, online, and on the air. Social media was buzzing with posts, tweets and photos from events around the state using #ILoveMyParkDay, #LoveNYParks and #ILMPD

A Boost to Volunteerism
New and veteran volunteers came out to give back to the outdoor places they use and enjoy all year. Many Friends groups enjoyed the best turnout ever for a volunteer event. A huge youth turnout helped to cement lifelong relationships with the outdoors and ensure the future stewardship of our parks, historic sites and public lands.

What's Next
Together, we will build on the tremendous momentum generated by I Love My Park Day. We will be working with State Parks, DEC and Friends groups to build on the success of the event by engaging new volunteers, building a strong community of outdoors stewards, and expanding Friends groups' capacity.

VIEW THE 2017 I LOVE MY PARK DAY GALLERY

A big thank you to our partners at State Parks, Governor Cuomo, DEC, NPS and the NY State Commission on National and Community Service, our corporate and media sponsors, and especially all the wonderful volunteers who came out, rolled up their sleeves, and helped make I Love My Park Day a huge success!