It’s time again for Public Lands Day and the Yosemite Facelift. In case you’re new here the Yosemite Facelift is an event held each fall to clean up trash, litter and debris from around the park after the busy summer crowds have left. Think of it as the guys who clean the movie theater after the show is over.
It’s a big thing and it’s a great way to help out your national park. Last year, over 1,400 Yosemite Facelift volunteers collected and removed 12,197 pounds of trash and debris from Yosemite National Park. Volunteers worked over 11,700 hours throughout the event and throughout the park to clear debris and trash from heavily visited areas and along park roadways.
Volunteers are needed to help pick up litter at various locations in the park, including roadways, in the river corridor, on trails, near climbing routes, and in parking, camping, and lodging areas. The event starts on Tuesday evening, September 26, with an evening program. Trash pick-up volunteer days will start on Wednesday, September 27 and continue through Sunday, October 1, 2017. You must register prior to participating in the event.
Interested volunteers can sign up at the booth in front of the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 27 through Saturday, September 30. On Sunday, October 1 registration will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. A second check-in station will be located at the Tuolumne Meadows campground office on Thursday, September 28 through Saturday, September 30. The Tuolumne Meadows booth will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Crew leaders will be at the booths to organize work groups and hand out trash bags, gloves, and litter sticks. Trash must be returned to the booths each day by the registration area’s closing time to be weighed and sorted.
On Saturday, September 30, the park will celebrate National Public Lands Day when all entrance fees will be waived. The fee waiver is ONLY for Saturday, September 30, 2017 and ONLY includes entrance fees. Lodging and campground fees are not affected.<
After the event is over, there will be a Yosemite Volunteer Awards Ceremony at 4:00 p.m. in front of the Valley Visitor Center on Saturday, September 30, 2017.
The Yosemite Facelift is a park-wide volunteer event that was started in 2004 by the Yosemite Climbing Association. The Yosemite Climbing Association sponsors and organizes the annual Yosemite Facelift in partnership with the National Park Service in Yosemite. For more information and a complete schedule of events, please visit the Yosemite Climbing Association website at http://www.yosemiteclimbing.org/facelift-2017/.