Dozens of community volunteers came together to celebrate National Public Lands Day in the parks by helping clean up trash, remove invasive plants, clear trails and assist with landscape projects to beautify parks in every district of the county. Volunteers logged more than 200 hours of service dedicated to preserving and beautifying Fairfax County parkland.

Since 1994, National Public Lands Day has mobilized volunteers of all ages to engage in a celebration of service and stewardship of America’s public lands. The event is the largest single-day national volunteer effort to preserve, restore, improve and enjoy the nation’s public lands and open spaces.

“The Fairfax County Park Authority stewards more than 23,000 acres of parkland and 334 miles of trails throughout the county and we cannot understate the impact that we see across our park system as a result of our community volunteers,” said Jai Cole, executive director of the Fairfax County Park Authority at a commemoration event at Franconia Rec Center. “Just last year, the Park Authority had 9,727 volunteers contribute 110,777 hours of volunteer service in our parks – that’s more than 12 years’ worth of service.”

Participation at this year’s National Public Lands Day events demonstrated that Fairfax County residents love their parks. With the growth and development across the country and in Fairfax County, communities are turning to public parks and open spaces to be centers of recreation, social engagement, the arts, and for connectivity to nature and local history.

The Park Authority expresses its gratitude to those who joined us on National Public Lands Day and to the thousands of volunteers who contribute their time, talents and energy in service to our park system. Their efforts have a tremendous impact on the experience enjoyed by the more than 18 million people who visit parks each year.

See the 2024 National Public Lands Day Photo Album