NPLD 2020: Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the way Americans are able to engage with public lands. From iconic national parks to local urban green spaces, the threat of COVID-19 has made it extremely difficult - if not impossible - for many land managers to host large in-person events on public lands. This has significantly impacted nationally recognized service events such as National Public Lands Day (NPLD).

The annual National Public Lands Day celebration is the largest single-day volunteer effort for America’s public lands. Each year, hundreds of thousands of volunteers come together on the fourth Saturday in September to assist land managers with environmental projects designed to enhance and restore national parks, recreation areas, wildlife refuges, and other public lands and waters. In 2019, over 2,000 public lands sites across the US hosted NPLD events, and together they engaged more than 150,000 volunteers in hands-on conservation activities.

This year, National Public Lands Day needed to look a little different. While public land sites were still be able to register in-person events, NEEF focused on supporting innovative virtual events designed to engage volunteers and connect people to public lands from the safety and comfort of their homes.