Get Involved on National Trails Day!
Your Local REI Invites You to Volunteer this Summer for
National Trails Day on June 4th!
Thanks to the efforts of the American Hiking Society, National Trails Day is celebrating 19 years of hosting volunteer events across the country. This nationwide event is a great opportunity for families
to enjoy the outdoors together. As a national sponsor of National Trails Day, REI invites you to get outside, have fun, and feel good about volunteering on Saturday, June 4th.
The theme for National Trails Day 2011, ‘Made With All Natural Ingredients’, encourages all Americans to get outside, connect with local outdoor clubs, businesses, community groups, and parks and recreation departments as well as federal land managing agencies to experience, appreciate and celebrate the natural places where we can find a spread of scenery, a plateful of peace, and a heap of happiness and health.
Volunteering with REI or your local land agency on National Trails Day is a superb way to get to know your local parks and trails better and deeper your connection to the outdoors. It’s also a fun way to meet other environmental stewards in your community. Many projects entail building or grading trail, installing features such as fences, gates, signs or stairs, and removing invasive species of non-native plants. No experience is necessary.
America’s 200,000 miles of trails allow us access to the natural world for recreation, education, exploration, solitude, inspiration, and much more. Trails take us to good physical and mental health by providing us with a chance to breathe fresh air, get our hearts pumping, and escape from our stresses. With obesity rates skyrocketing, exercise is increasingly important, and trails provide a wide variety of opportunities for being physically active.
Encourage the children in your life to participate in the National Trails Day Coloring Contest – entry information can be found HERE. Entries must be received by August 1st, 2011.
If you want to get happy, healthy, active, fit, and have some fun, National Trails Day is your recipe to success. The only ingredient missing is YOU. Visit the event website to find your local National Trails Day project, or visit the REI Website.