Flight 93 site, Laurel Hill park, Forbes State Forest seek volunteers to help with projects

Volunteers are needed to do projects, such as picking up trash on land and water, improving trails and making bird houses, in state and federal parks in Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties as part of a nationwide effort to improve public lands.

During National Public Lands Day on Saturday , volunteers at Laurel Hill State Park near Trent in Somerset County will build bluebird boxes for the park’s new bluebird trail or refurbish the popular Jones Mill Run Dam, which is one of the park’s focal points. Volunteers can register by calling the Laurel Hill visitors center at 814-352-8649.

Laurel Hill often attracts close to 40 volunteers on National Public Lands Day, which is organized in part by the National Park Service, said Mike Mumau, operations manager for the Laurel Hill, Kooser and Laurel Ridge state parks.

With 200,000 acres of public lands in the Laurel Highlands, people volunteering their time in the parks is what Mumau said he believes is “the highest form of stewardship that you can have. It’s so important because it’s there for their enjoyment,” Mumau said.

At Friendship Hill National Historic Site near Farmington, the home of Albert Gallatin, who was U.S. Treasury secretary in the early 1800s, volunteers are needed to pick up litter from 9 a.m. to noon along the park border and the main road into the park and trails. To register, visit volunteer.gov and search for Friendship Hill.

The Laurel Mountain Volunteer Group will improve trails in the Forbes State Forest, east of Ligonier, beginning at 10 a.m., said Rachel Mahony, environmental education specialist with the state forest. Light refreshments will be available for volunteers as they gather at the Laurel Mountain Warming Hut along Laurel Summit Road.

Volunteers not registered with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Volunteer Database, should register at volunteers.dcnr.state.pa.us and select Forbes State Forest. For more information, contact Mahony at 724-238-1200 or rmahony@pa.gov.

The Friends of Keystone State Park will hold the group’s annual Paddle for Pollution at Keystone State Park in Derry Township, during which volunteers will remove trash from the lake from 10 a.m. to noon.

Kayaks will be available for those who need them. For those not wanting to venture out in the lake, volunteers are needed to clean up litter along the shore. Lunch will be provided, so volunteers are asked to register in advance on the DCNR events page at events.dcnr.pa.gov. For more information, email jkeene@pa.gov.

The Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville will be a stopping point along a 24-mile route from Berlin, Somerset County, to the memorial and returning to Berlin.

The bike ride is sponsored by members of the 911 Trail Riders, which is helping to develop the 1,300-mile trail that connects the Sept. 11, 2001, crash sites in New York to Shanksville and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. From 11:30 a.m. to noon at the Flight 93 site, an interpretive ranger from the National Park Service will tell The Flight 93 story.

Proceeds from the ride will support the efforts to expand and maintain the 1,300-mile multi-use trail. To register for the ride, go to runsignup.com/Race/PA/Berlin/2022TourdeTrail.

For those looking from some entertainment, the Friends of Flight 93 will host Pints for Parks from 2 to 6 p.m. at Forbes Trail Brewery, located less than a half-mile from the entrance to the memorial on Route 30.

Musicians will perform during that time, and the brewery will donate all proceeds from the sale of its special edition Giving Back Pale Ale to enhance the Western Overlook project at the memorial. The Friends of Flight 93 is working to beautify the spot where the families of the Flight 93 passengers and crew members were first brought to see the crash site.