Love Yosemite? Lend a hand to clean up the park this week/Patrick Cone

Yosemite National Park and the Yosemite Climbing Association invite the public to participate in the Facelift, an annual event held to clean up trash and debris from around the park after the busy summer season. This year’s Facelift will honor Yosemite National Park’s 125th Anniversary with special service projects and interactive anniversary-themed activities.

Volunteers are needed to help pick up litter at various locations in the park, including roadways, in the river corridor, on trails, near climbing routes, and in parking, camping, and lodging areas. The event starts on Tuesday evening, September 22, with the Reel Rock 10 film showing beginning at 7 p.m. Trash pick-up volunteer days start Wednesday and continue through Sunday, September 27, 2015.

Last year, more than 1,600 Yosemite Facelift volunteers collected almost 14,000 pounds of trash and debris and completed many service projects throughout the park. Volunteers worked 12,000 hours throughout the event and throughout the park to clear debris and trash from heavily visited areas and along park roads.

Interested volunteers can sign up at the booth in front of the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. A second check-in station will be located at the Tuolumne Meadows campground office on Wednesday through Saturday. The Tuolumne Meadows booth will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Crew leaders will be at the booths to organize work groups and hand out trash bags, gloves, and litter sticks. Trash must be returned to the booths each day by the registration area’s closing time to be weighed and sorted. All volunteers must register prior to participating in the event.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, please visit the Yosemite Climbing Association website at www.facebook.com/pages/Yosemite-Facelift/120770414636649. Individuals who are unable to participate during the cleanup, but would still like to help, may make a tax deductible donation to help pay for costs associated with the cleanup effort. Donations can be made to the Yosemite Climbing Association at P.O. Box 89 Yosemite, California 95389.

On Saturday, the park will celebrate National Public Lands Day. In order to celebrate this special day and the Facelift events, the park will waive entrance fees. The fee waiver includes entrance fees on Saturday only and is not associated with camping fees.

Additionally, there will be a Yosemite Volunteer Awards Ceremony at 4 p.m. Saturday in front of the Valley Visitor Center.