Making a Difference on Public Lands

NPLD 2021 IMPACT

On Saturday, September 25, 2021, over 40,000 volunteers participated in community engagement events at more than 500 public lands sites across the country.

28TH Annual National Public Lands Day

Participants joined in trail building projects, coastal and parked clean-ups, guided hikes, and other outdoor fun. Some dug in with rakes, clippers, shovels, and hoes. Others went in with gloves and trash bags. And still, more grabbed binoculars, laced up hiking boots, or strapped on bicycle helmets in celebration of the 28th annual National Public Lands Day.

2021 Focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

NEEF partnered with four groups focused on connecting people to nature—particularly people from communities that are often underrepresented in the outdoor space, such as communities of color, LBGTQ+, and non-English speaking communities.

NEEF has historically had a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we are excited to partner with groups that are focused on engaging underrepresented communities in the outdoors.

Tony Richardson, director of Public Lands Engagement at NEEF

National Public Lands Day

2021 NPLD Video

National Public Lands Day (NPLD) 2021 Kick-off Video

Corazón Latino, Pride Outside, Disabled & Outdoors, U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, and NEEF produced a series of webinars focused on creating more inclusive NPLD events. Watch the "Nature for All" webinars in our NPLD resources.

Along with the webinars, NEEF and the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture launched the Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgements to help NPLD site managers understand and perform land acknowledgments during NPLD events.

NPLD Impacts

46,227

Volunteers

537

NPLD Events

5,300,000

Value of Volunteer Work

Conservation IMPACTs

157,402

Square Feet of Invasive Species Removed

Funding communities

5,863

Trees and Flowers Planted

increasing competence

63,053

Pounds of Trash Collected

277

Public Facilities Built or Maintained

supporting diversity

3,292

Acres of Public Lands Restored

447

Miles of Trails and Rivers Maintained

a group of women in a field collect seeds from native plants while volunteering on national public lands day

NPLD Highlighted Sites Focus on Community and Connection in the Wake of COVID-19

With support from Toyota, NEEF developed the Highlighted Site Sponsorship to foster innovative NPLD events throughout the nation that showcase the diversity of America’s public lands and the people who care for them. This year, 23 such events were recognized as Highlighted Sites. Of this special group, two events, in particular, exemplified the full potential of NPLD—not just as a way to give back to the green spaces that provided respite during the COVID-19 pandemic, but as a welcoming environment for fostering community and rebuilding connections after more than a year in isolation.

Read more how the Ice Age National Scenic Trail in Wisconsin and the Ice Age Trail Alliance reconvened its Trailtessa series, a retreat for women on the trails, for the first time since March 2020 to volunteer for a native seed-collecting project which garnered approximately 80 pounds of seeds. Also see how an urban community makes the most of its municipal green space, with a NPLD event in Chicago at the Skinner Park and the Loomis Street Community Garden, the only public garden in this rapidly gentrifying area.

NPLD Highlighted Sites Focus on Community and Connection in the Wake of COVID-19

On the fourth Saturday in September each year, NEEF joins forces with its longtime partner Toyota Motor North...

NPLD 2021 Highlighted Site Sponsorship Winners

With generous support from Toyota Motor North America, the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF)...

We think NPLD has a great message that syncs with the overall goals of our organization—volunteers working to preserve, safeguard, and advocate for our public lands and spaces.

May Toy, president of the Skinner Park Advisory Council