Though volunteers help out on public lands throughout the year, once a year everyone is invited to lend a hand. This year National Public Lands Day falls on September 22, and there will be events across the country, and the National Park System, looking for volunteers.

Volunteers are expected to turn out in droves at parks, forests, beaches, rivers, and other public lands throughout the country to celebrate the 25th annual National Public Lands Day. Organized each year by the National Environmental Education Foundation, National Public Lands Day promotes the connection between people and the environment by inviting everyone to get outside. With support from NPLD national corporate sponsor Toyota, eight federal agency partners, hundreds of state and local partners, and dozens of nonprofit organizations, National Public Lands Day is the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort.

“Whether it’s an iconic place like Yellowstone National Park, the soccer fields down the street, or a strip of greenspace in the middle of the city, our nation’s public lands offer limitless opportunities for recreation and relaxation,” said NEEF President Meri-Margaret Deoudes. “National Public Lands is the perfect opportunity to spend the day outside with friends and family, caring for and enjoying these special places.”

The theme for this year’s National Public Lands Day is restoration and resilience. More than 200,000 volunteers are expected to turn out for trail maintenance and planting projects, trash pick-ups, and other refurbishing activities aimed at restoring public lands and making them more resilient. The day will also feature a variety of education, health, and recreation activities—all set on the backdrop of the country’s public lands and waterways.

“Natural disasters and extreme weather, human activities, and a host of other factors wreak havoc on our public lands and threaten the health and wellbeing of the people and wildlife who depend on them,” said Deoudes, noting that in 2017, weather and climate disasters caused more than $306 billion in damages—the highest annual cost in U.S. history. “If we want to continue to enjoy all the benefits these outdoor spaces have to offer, we have to help care for, restore and work to make these special places more resilient to future threats.”

NEEF is partnering with the National Park Service and Toyota to host a signature NPLD event in Texas at Big Thicket National Preserve, which suffered extensive damages last August when Hurricane Harvey blew through the 113,000 acres of land and water spread over seven counties in southeast Texas. Over the past year, park officials and volunteers have mounted a steady clean-up effort, but some areas still need help. NPS plans to mobilize volunteer support during NPLD 2018 to restore areas that have remaining storm damage and debris.

A sample of other restoration and resilience activities planned for NPLD 2018 includes:

* At Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, located in the northeastern corner of Washington, D.C., at the Maryland state border, National Public Lands Day has been a mainstay event since 2001. This year, more than 200 volunteers are expected to turn out for trail maintenance, litter removal, and other restoration activities. A highlight of the event is clearing out the site’s water lily ponds and preparing them for the harsh winter weather. In a few hours, NPLD volunteers typically knock out work it would take staff months to complete.

* ​​​​Climbers in Yosemite National Park are poised to give the landscape around the granite cliffs their annual facelift. Members of the Yosemite Climbing Association are planning a massive clean-up effort to remove the wear and tear visitors and nature take on this iconic park each year. Last year, more than 1,400 Yosemite Facelift volunteers contributed a total of 9,692 hours and collected 14,762 pounds of trash.

* At Minute Man National Historical Park in Massachusetts, a Biodiversity day is planned to have volunteers see how many species they can find in the park. All are welcome to help out from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at North Bridge Visitor Center, 174 Liberty St, Concord Massachusetts.

* At Biscayne National Park, the South Florida National Parks Trust will be staging a cleanup of marine debris from the mangrove shoreline south of Black Point Marina. To register, contact  [email protected]/305-665-4769.

* Volunteers at the Plumb Beach Clean Up at Gateway National Recreation Area, just three miles east of New York’s Coney Island on Jamaica Bay, will help revitalize precious marine habitat and salt marshes. Naturalists will also be on site to educate volunteers about the creates that live in the Bay.

 * At Yellowstone, volunteers will undertake a forest fuel reduction project. In addition to a moderately strenuous hike to and from the site, volunteers will gather and stack branches in piles for burning later when there is snow on the ground. Some logs may be diverted to other projects and volunteers will move and stack those logs. Space is limited to 20 people. People are asked to register by September 7 -- today. Preferred contact is by e-mail to [email protected]. People may also call 307-344-2729.

To see if there's an event near you, visit this site.

National Public Lands Day is a fee-free day for most federal sites as well as many state parks. Participating federal sites reward volunteers with a coupon good for free entry to any public land managed by one of the NPLD federal partners any time before National Public Lands Day 2019.