It’s My Park Day Celebrates 20th Anniversary

By Edly Termilien

Reporting Texas TV

AUSTIN, Texas — Nearly 100 volunteers came together Saturday at Brentwood Park to participate in the Austin Parks Foundation’s bi-annual “It’s My Park Day.”.

The event brought together about 2,000 Austinites to help with projects across the city.

Volunteer Katie Malinski has attended “It’s My Park Day” for the past decade. She brought her husband and daughters this year.

“Park Day is wonderful, and what I really hope is that we get to keep doing it, and we get to keep seeing our neighbors when we come out,” Malinski said.  “I think the best part is seeing people that we know we get to connect with every single It’s My Park Day.”

It’s My Park Day volunteers worked at about 80 parks in the Austin area. Volunteer duties included litter cleanup, tree mulching, invasive species management, riparian zone restoration, trail management, and more.

For its 20th year of It’s My Park Day, the Austin Parks Foundation partnered with local businesses to thank volunteers with special discounts around town.

Every volunteer received a free t-shirt during their shift and can receive the following perks if they wear their shirts to the partner locations to receive perks:

• One free milkshake from P. Terry’s
• One free Parks & Rec beer from Zilker Brewing
• Buy one beer, get one free from Big Country Organic Brewing Co.

Kat Correa, one of the event administrators, said it’s essential to be open minded and help the community.

“It’s always good to get outside your neighborhood, and there are some parks around town that don’t have the support that this park is like today,” Correa said.

The Austin Parks Foundation aims to improve Austin’s parks by building community with Austinites. Malinski hopes It’s My Park Day is fun for volunteers of all ages.

“It’s fun to see the neighbors. It’s fun to do something for our local park,” Malinski said.