Love your parks: A day of loving work to make Lands End better

By Elizabeth Aldenderfer
Park Stewardship Trails Program Intern

Recently, park stewardship teams joined forces to host a day all about appreciation and care for Love Your Parks Day in the Golden Gate National Parks! Nearly 40 people within the community showed up at Lands End eager to learn, love, and enjoy their parks.

To start the morning, Yakuta Poonawalla, Community Programs Manager for San Francisco, guided us in focusing on the little wonders and intricacies all around us—the breezes, bird calls, and bushes that make Lands End unique. She reminded us of all the creatures and plants we would be helping throughout the morning, and the importance of our work for these environments—and ourselves!

Then we got to work pulling introduced plants, covering social trails, and installing fencing in a restoration area. The trails team was in charge of fence installation. The volunteers and staff enjoyed the full-body workout with the post pounders, with smiles and laughter throughout the morning! The group blazed through the project, and installed nearly 230 feet of fencing to protect the native habitat from wandering feet and hands. Afterwards, we joined in some satisfying weeding of introduced grasses adjacent to our fencing project. Working alongside the restoration groups was a wonderful visual reminder of how everyone supports each others’ work, especially during these kinds of events.

At event’s end, and throughout the day, people shared their love for the parks. Whether it was getting out of the office into fresh air, bird watching, community gatherings, or the pride in watching an area thrive after caring for it, we were all there to enjoy the moment. Being a part of such a thoughtful and compassionate community is truly a reason to love your parks.