National Public Lands Day ADA Trails Maintenance

NPLD is the Nation's largest single-day volunteer event for public lands! Join Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge for a morning dedicated to conserving and enhancing the refuge's natural beauty. We will be working together maintaining ADA-accessible trails, butterfly gardens, and wildlife viewing areas. After these efforts, we'll gather for the dedication of the new Bird Blind Loop, marked by a ribbon cutting ceremony. The event will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m., and all volunteers are required to complete a volunteer agreement form beforehand. We’ll kick things off with a safety briefing and an overview of the planned work, followed by the distribution of personal protective equipment for those who need it. Once everyone is on the same page, we’ll divide into small groups to tackle various task near the visitor center. The tasks will involve using hand tools, wheelbarrows, rakes, and other equipment to trim overgrown trail edges, remove invasive grass, gather and distribute brush, scrape ground along ADA trails, and tend to the pollinator garden. The work is expected to be moderately challenging, including activities such as walking, bending, reaching, and occasional light to heavy lifting. All volunteers are invited to attend a brief ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony for the new Bird Blind Loop—an area where we will have worked earlier in the day. This ceremony serves as a meaningful recognition of the dedication and continued accomplishments of volunteers on public lands!