National Park Week, National Volunteer Week, & Earth Day 2020

We are grateful for the fabulous volunteers at Point Reyes National Seashore as we celebrate National Volunteer Week and the 50th Anniversary of the NPS Volunteers-In-Parks Program.

National Park Week is an annual week for celebration and recognition of your National Parks. National Park Week usually coincides with Earth Day (April 22). For 2020, National Park Week was observed from Saturday, April 18 through Sunday, April 26.

National Volunteer Week honors the individuals who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities. For 2020, National Volunteer Week was observed from Sunday, April 19 through Saturday, April 25. We celebrated by recognizing and highlighting the accomplishments of some of our volunteers.

Earth Day began when a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, called for an environmental teach-in in 1969, which was inspired by the teach-ins dealing with the Vietnam War. The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, and drew an estimated 20 million participants. Tens of thousands of people filled New York's Fifth Avenue, Congress adjourned so members could speak across the nation, and at least 2,000 colleges marked the occasion. American Heritage Magazine called the first Earth Day "one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy." Today, Earth Day is celebrated in 174 countries by over a half billion people, making it the most celebrated secular holiday in the world, a day on which people get outdoors, plant trees, clean up trash and lobby for the environment.

Your National Parks are living examples of the best this nation has to offer—our magnificent natural landscapes and our varied yet interrelated heritage. Parks can provide recreational experiences, opportunities to learn and grow, and places of quiet refuge.

This year, take a moment, an hour, a day to visit the national parks near you.

While entrance to Point Reyes National Seashore is always free, the opening day of National Park Week—April 18, 2020—entrance to all National Park Service sites is free. The National Park Service also offers a number of other fee-free days throughout the year.

Cancellation of all in-park events

Following guidance from the CDC and public health officials, and to comply with county-wide shelter-in-place legal orders, Point Reyes National Seashore cancelled all National Park Week and National Volunteer week in-person ranger- and volunteer-led programs.

 

Experience Gray Whales - CANCELLED

Date: Saturday, April 18; Sunday, April 19; Saturday, April 25; and Sunday, April 26
Time: 11 am to 4:30 pm
Location: Meet at the Point Reyes Lighthouse Observation Deck
Description: Volunteer docents will be stationed at the Lighthouse Observation Deck from 11 am to 4:30 pm to answer questions about gray whales. Visitors will be able to view gray whales through park-provided binoculars and scopes.
more...
Contact: Bear Valley Visitor Center, 415-464-5100 x2 x5, email

 

Journey of the Whales - CANCELLED

Date: Saturday, April 18; Sunday, April 19; Saturday, April 25; and Sunday, April 26
Time: 1:30 pm
Location: Lighthouse Visitor Center
Description: Join a Ranger to learn about gray whales as they migrate past Point Reyes. Learn about their habits and adaptations, and hope for a whale sighting from the Observation Deck. Program lasts 30 minutes.
This program is given out-of-doors. Come prepared for windy, cold and damp weather.
more...
Contact: Bear Valley Visitor Center, 415-464-5100 x2 x5, email

 

A Look into the Lens - CANCELLED

Date: Fridays through Mondays
Time: 2:30 pm to 4 pm (weather permitting)
Location: the Point Reyes Lighthouse
Description: See inside the Point Reyes Lighthouse and discover its history and function with a park ranger. Access requires a strenuous descent and ascent of 313 stairs. The stairs close when weather and winds are hazardous, i.e., if the winds are in excess of 40 mph (64 kmph). The clockwork room (the second-level chamber), which houses the original clockworks and from which one can get a close look at the first-order Fresnel lens, is open with a ranger present from 2:30 pm to 4 pm, Fridays through Mondays.
more...
Contact: Bear Valley Visitor Center, 415-464-5100 x2 x5, email

 

Salmon Habitat Restoration Volunteer Day at Jewell Restoration Site - CANCELLED

Date: Saturday, April 25
Time: 10 am to 2 pm
Location: Meet at the Turtle Island Restoration Network Headquarters at 9255 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Olema, CA 94950
Description: Help Turtle Island Restoration Network plant native plants and trees on the recently completed habitat restoration site at the former ghost town of Jewell near the border between Golden Gate National Recreation Area (which is managed by Point Reyes National Seashore) and Samuel P. Taylor State Park! They will be working from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, April 25, 2020, to plant native plants and trees that will stabilize the newly-created banks and provide much-needed nutrients for coho salmon, native birds, amphibians, and more!
Please pack something to eat and join them for lunch after they’ve finished working. Tea and coffee will be provided.
more...
Contact: Preston Brown, 415-663-8590, email

 

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