Let's Celebrate Earth Day & Volunteer Week!

Photo: Mojave Desert Land Trust native garden planting

This week we’re excited to take a moment to honor two things we hold dear: our home planet, and the people who volunteer their time to keep the places we love beautiful and healthy. Today is the beginning of National Volunteer Week and this Wednesday marks the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day.

This is the perfect confluence of events for Conservation Lands Foundation. As the only nonprofit organization leading a national movement of community-based advocates to care for America’s National Conservation Lands, we know first-hand that volunteers are a vital part of taking care of conservation.

Our Friends Grassroots Network includes 70 independent nonprofit organizations that care and advocate for specific National Conservation Lands and run on volunteer power. Many organizations within the Friends Grassroots Network started and are still led by volunteers who, week after week, lend their time and effort to these treasured places.

These are members of the community who freely give thousands of hours each year to maintain trails, plant native species, pull weeds, mark trails, remove graffiti, staff information tables, deliver education events and tours, guide hikes, and share their knowledge, passion and skills as members of the board of directors. We’re incredibly proud and thankful for these volunteers. They exemplify the spirit of Earth Day in every hour they give.

As we navigate our current reality and stay home to fight COVID-19, Conservation Lands Foundation is celebrating Volunteer Week and Earth Day a little differently this year. We’re doing it from home, and virtually, and we invite you to join us by:

• Sharing your experience with us. We’ll be celebrating #EarthDayFromHome and Volunteer Week on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter this week. Follow and celebrate with us each day, and jump into the virtual party by sharing your stories, photos, art, favorite songs -- whatever inspires your love for the planet.
• Identifying an organization you want to volunteer with. While traditional volunteer opportunities have been postponed, you can still sign up for updates, participate in virtual trainings or follow their social media to learn about future events.
• Telling Congress some Public Lands are too valuable to be destroyed.

Though we may not be able to gather outdoors in person, we can still celebrate our shared love of the planet and the caring actions of volunteers. Tune in on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter this week to join us!