Press Releases

As of January 2024, NYC Parks achieved a milestone by reaching over 400,000 volunteer participants

This marks a record number since the launch of the Let’s Green NYC campaign

Today, NYC Parks announced that in the inaugural year of the Let’s Green NYC campaign, more than 400,000 people have given their time to care for and beautify New York City’s parks and greenspaces. This total is nearly double the number of annual volunteers the agency estimated in previous years!

Officially launched in June 2023, Let’s Green NYC is NYC Parks’ strategic initiative to engage a record number of volunteers in City parks through the end of 2024. Through Let’s Green NYC, Parks is building on its long legacy of volunteerism by renewing its commitment to the hundreds of volunteer groups who actively care for greenspaces – from small grassroots organizations to large conservancies -- and making it easier and more fun for everyone to beautify their parks, connect with fellow New Yorkers, and build stronger neighborhoods.

“After the pandemic, we made a commitment to New Yorkers to provide safe spaces for human connection, and to alleviate growing feelings of isolation. I am delighted to share that our agency has fulfilled this promise, uniting diverse communities with a common mission to celebrate and improve the environment,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “Our parks and urban greenspaces play a quiet but crucial role in the operations of our beautiful city. Volunteering is essential for improving mental and physical health, strengthening communities, and ensuring that public spaces remain vibrant, accessible, and well-maintained for the benefit of all residents. I encourage you to continue the important work you are doing. Here’s to breaking records!”

In recent years, informal surveying by Parks has estimated that around 230,000 New Yorkers volunteer with their parks annually. Further research conducted by the Partnership for New York City found that 73 percent of New Yorkers are prepared to volunteer to help with our city’s resurgence, though many don’t know how. Last year, the Surgeon General released a report on the effects of loneliness post-COVID, prompting the Let's Green NYC campaign to encourage New Yorkers to get outside, build social connections, and contribute to their city. Being outside and in nature can increase life expectancy, reduce stress, and lower heart rates. Our goal is to stay committed and expand efforts made to increase volunteers until the end of 2024 by improved tracking and reporting activities, enhanced web resources and strengthened collaborations with new partners.

Highlights of Let’s Green NYC from the past year include:

A Wicked Partnership: Under the initiative, Parks partnered with the Broadway show Wicked and WE❤NYC to enhance the profile of volunteer events and attract theater fans to help beautify their parks. Through the partnership, theater and park lovers helped to beautify Riverside Park in Manhattan, Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, and Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. During Summer 2023, NYC Parks in partnership with Wicked announced the recipient of the Elphie Award, a sweepstake where one winner who enacts change for good will receive a pair of free tickets to a showing of Wicked. Somalia-Rose Muhammad, the 2023 winner, won the tickets for the January 11th, 2024, show after traveling from Ozone Park, NY to give back to the NYC community by helping to create a greener environment.

New Volunteer Directory Helps New Yorkers Find their Match: NYC Parks created a Let’s green NYC page that makes it easier for individuals and groups to get matched to volunteer groups working in our parks. Hundreds of groups work in our parks and public spaces, and many of them are small grassroots groups actively looking for more volunteers. Therefore, it is crucial to enhance their visibility and outreach to boost volunteerism. In just a year nearly 150 volunteer groups have been added to the directory, so you can easily find something that matches your interest- categories range from trail maintenance and park clean ups to teen focused and dogs and numerous other opportunities.

Enhanced Tracking and Reporting of volunteer Accomplishments: Since the launch of the Let’s Green NYC initiative, volunteers have dedicated countless hours to various park clean-ups, educational events, and so much more. NYC Parks developed a new digital portal for volunteers to log their hours that provides improved data and better tracking of where and how people volunteer. Information from the portal can help Parks target to inform where volunteer programming to where it is needed most.

For example Greenthumb, the nation's largest gardening program, has engaged over 150,000 volunteers through education, outreach and civic engagement events. These volunteer opportunities include anything from children’s volunteer day to learning about fruit tree maintenance, basic pruning and discussing/viewing Organic Fungal control. Additionally, our partners at Partnership for Parks have involved more than 25,000 volunteers in activities such as litter pick-ups, horticultural projects, and contributing to planting, mulching efforts, and the painting of our parks. These initiatives play a crucial role in maintaining and enhancing the care of neighborhood parks.

Other groups, like our Jr. Litter League, a citywide youth stewardship program where teams compete to pick up the most litter and leaves from their local park, gathered nearly 3,000 lbs. more litter debris than in previous years. As of Fall 2023, the number of volunteers increased by 362 people, and they worked over 80 cleaning projects in 19 parks throughout our boroughs.