Westchester residents have a long history of rolling up their sleeves and volunteering in the parks. They become stewards of the parks, helping with environmental monitoring, ecological restoration, removal of invasive vines and plants, and educating others about the natural environment.

Our volunteer program is ideal for students who need to earn volunteer credits for school or religious education requirements, for scout troops on the lookout for a great project, or for anyone who just wants to put their skills to good use.

Each April Friends and the Parks Department host Pitch in for Parks, the largest one-day volunteer spruce-up of the parks in the county. Volunteers, working as individuals, families or large groups, take on special projects to help get the parks ready for the peak season. They paint, rake, prepare and plant flower beds, build footbridges and boardwalks in the woods, clear trails and shorelines, monitor biodiveristy, restore wildlife habitats and remove invasive vines from trees.