The 16th National Public Parks Day will take place on September 26, 2009. The annual event is designed to get useful projects completed on public lands and tap into our country's great volunteer tradition. The volunteer nature of the day helps connect local people with their public land and provides a means of educating the public about environmental and natural resource concerns.

Last you there were ~120,000 people pitching in to work in their local area. Part of the nationwide nature of the event is featuring a number of what are called signature sites. There are 4 this year and the details about their event can give you an idea about what happens at thousands of similar events throughout the country (all of these will take place on Saturday the 26th):

Lincoln Memorial, National Mall, Washington, DC
* 9am-12noon (Breakfast/Registration at 8:30am. Lunch is also provided)
* Location: Meet at the South Lincoln Guest Services Food Kiosk, located at Daniel French Dr. and Independence Ave. SW Washington, DC.
* Contact Information: Miriam Hornstein (202) 359-1536. Registration required.
* Work Projects: Pruning, remove invasive plants, pull weeds, reset Belgium blocks and pick-up debris.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, California
* 9am-12:30pm (Registration begins at 8:45am. Lunch will be provided)
* Location: Crissy Field, 603 Mason Street at Halleck Avenue The Presidio of San Francisco, Golden Gate National Parks
* Contact Information: (415) 561-3044 or volunteer@parksconservancy.org

Angeles National Forest, California
* 9am - 2pm
* Location: Angeles National Forest, Big Tujunga Canyon Road | Tujunga, California 91042
* Work Projects: Trash pickup along Big Tujunga Canyon riparian habitat area. Area of work: National Forest System Land from Forest Boundary to Stonyvale Picnic Area, approx. 3 miles.
* Contact Information: Howard S. Okamoto, (818) 899-1900 or Martin Dumpis, (626) 574-5276

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Atlanta, Georgia

* 9am - 12pm. Reservations required.
* Location: 450 Auburn Ave NE | Atlanta, Georgia 30312
* Work Projects: Various projects focus on the restoration of historic houses adjacent to Martin Luther King Jr’s first home. Other activities include weeding, painting and mulching around the site.
* Contact Information: Andrew Callens, National Park Service, (404) 867-1589 or Bobby Cato, Sr. Education Project Manager, National Environmental Education Foundation

If you would like to find a project near you, check the database of participating sites here.