Volunteers can give back to their park and stay safe in this odd time, as Fairmount Park Conservancy modifies their cleanup plans.

Fairmount Park Conservancy is hosting its annual Love Your Park Fall Service Day on Saturday, November 14th. Each year, volunteers gather to clean and green their parks, plant trees, remove litter, and more, to help prepare parks for the winter.

This year, it will maintain the same mission to prepare parks for winters, but look a little different.

In order to adapt to the pandemic, they are limiting participation at each park to 25 people, requiring masks, and requiring participants to practice social distancing. Some of the sites are opting for morning and afternoon shifts, allowing more volunteers to contribute throughout the day.

Another change: a toned-down cleanup celebration. Instead of a large signature site with breakfast and a DJ, the Conservancy is hosting a smaller signautre site at Clark park with Mayor Jim Kenney and Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier.

People are feeling the love after frequenting our park system as a quarantine-approved activity. According to Lindsey Walker, Volunteer and Environmental Program Manager of Fairmount Park Conservancy, “People are certainly more grateful to parks than ever.”

300 people have signed up for the Fall Service Day so far.

Adapting to 2020: Love Your Park Solo Volunteers Program

The Love Your Park Fall Service Day isn’t the only pivot for Fairmount Park Conservancy. They also launched a Love Your Park Solo Volunteers Initiative in June to give local park-lovers the opportunity to give back on their own time. Volunteers who signed up could opt to receive a clean-up kit including a trash grabber, gloves, mask, bandana, trash bags, and instructions. Approximately 500 people signed up for the program, and 400 supply kits were sent.

How to sign up for Love Your Park Fall Service Day

Volunteers interested in participating in the Fall Service Day can sign up to on the Fairmount Park Conservancy website.

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher