Volunteers to Clean Up Macarthur Park in Los Angeles as Part of National Public Lands Day

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 20 -- Nearly 400 volunteers will join together at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles on Saturday, Sept. 20, as part of the 10th annual National Public Lands Day "Helping Hands for America's Lands" program designed to clean up and preserve America's public lands.

MacArthur Park will be one of more than 500 locations in all 50 states expected to attract about 80,000 volunteers. Sponsored nationwide by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS), National Public Lands Day is a unique public/private partnership involving many federal, state and local agencies. These agencies work closely with business partners such as Toyota and numerous non-profit organizations to achieve one goal, preserving our public lands.

Volunteers who come out to MacArthur Park on Sept. 20 will help beautify the park by pulling trash and debris from Lake MacArthur, re-planting areas surrounding the lake, painting murals, refurbishing park benches and picking up trash.

Huell Howser, producer/host of California's Golden Parks on PBS, will be on hand as the co-chair and one of the speakers for the Los Angeles event. As part of the opening ceremonies, remarks will be made by Councilmember Ed P. Reyes and Irv Miller, group vice president of corporate communications for TMS. Also, a representative from Mayor James Hahn's office will recognize Toyota and the non-profit organization, National Environmental Education & Training Foundation (NEETF), for their work in environmental conservation. In addition, Toyota's environmentally-advanced gas/electric Prius will be on display.

Headquartered in nearby Torrance, Toyota will have more than 200 associates participating in the MacArthur Park cleanup and more than 2,200 associates involved nationwide. Other Southern California Toyota associates will be helping at Crystal Cove State Park, Angeles National Forest and DeForest Park. Toyota, which has been the national sponsor for five years running, recently signed a new three-year commitment to sponsor National Public Lands Day.

Toyota associates across the country have shown tremendous interest and support for helping to clean up our nation's public lands," said Michael Rouse, Toyota's corporate manager for community relations. "They have been the driving force behind our corporate support for this effort."

National Public Lands Day is the largest volunteer hands-on activity of its kind in the country. This year, Toyota was recognized by the National Resources Council of America with the "Award of Achievement and Partnerships" for its sponsorship of National Public Lands Day. The award recognizes innovation in forging relations across public and private sectors to achieve important objectives in natural resources conservation.

National Public Lands Day is held each September. The event brings together thousands of individual and organizational volunteers to refurbish and restore the country's public places. For more information, including a list of National Public Lands Day sites, activities, contacts and downloadable photos, go to www.npld.com , or call 800-VOL-TEER (800-865-8337).

About National Environmental Education & Training Foundation (NEETF)

The NEETF, chartered by Congress in 1990, focuses on environmental learning as a solution to critical challenges in natural resources management, education, health care and business. In its mission to support environmental education, NEETF initiates programs and public/private partnerships that will result in an environmentally knowledgeable public, environmentally competent professionals and environmentally capable leaders and policy-makers. For more information on NEETF contact Patti Pride at (202) 833-2933 or go to www.neetf.org .