Spring Partners for Parks Season Underway

The Land Conservancy of New Jersey’s Partners for Parks program, which provides community service opportunities for corporations and civic groups, has already begun its15th season with a project at Lorrimer Sanctuary in Bergen County.

With 12 projects already confirmed for this season and more in the planning stages, the focus of Partners for Parks is to tap corporate and civic volunteers to participate in one day community service projects in local parks, improving and maintaining these vital recreational areas while building a corps of advocates for the parks. In collaboration with 102 land managers to date, the program arranges customized projects to enhance federal, state, county, municipal and other non-profit natural areas.

Partners for Parks is a nationally recognized award-winning program which fosters team building and community spirit for volunteers while providing critical public support for parks and open space preservation. The program is unique to New Jersey in offering free stewardship services to federal, state, and municipal parks.

A sampling of project locations scheduled for this spring includes: Morris County - Harding Land Trust & Spring Garden Lake in Florham Park; Somerset County- Cross Estate Gardens, Sherman Hoffman Sanctuary & Wagner Farm; Essex County - Branch Brook Park & Hartshorn Arboretum; Union County - Reeves Reed Arboretum.

The Partners for Parks program is made possible in part thanks to our corporate sponsorships. 2010 sponsors thus far include: BASF, Goldman Sachs & Co., Investors Savings Bank, Merck & Co., Novartis Pharmaceuticals, sanofi-aventis, UPS and Wal-Mart.

The Land Conservancy of New Jersey is a non profit member supported organization dedicated to preserving and protecting New Jersey’s vital natural lands and water resources. The organization has been working for the past 29 years to inspire and empower individuals and communities to take action to save the land that is so important to our state. The Conservancy has preserved over 16,500 acres of land and helped towns receive $192 million in grants to purchase and protect land throughout New Jersey. The Conservancy has worked with more than 76 municipalities in 13 counties, impacting over half of New Jersey’s counties and benefiting millions of residents throughout the state. The Land Conservancy of New Jersey is the first land trust organization in the state of New Jersey and one of only 93 nationwide to receive accreditation from The Land Trust Accreditation Commission.

For more information, to schedule a Partners for Parks Corporate Volunteer Day or make a donation, call (973) 541-1010, or visit our website at www.tlc-nj.org .