On National Public Lands Day, thousands of volunteers across the country will come together to care for our shared natural and historic spaces. Want to be part of this amazing day? You're in the right place!
This year, the Chattanooga Park Stewards invite you to join us at Citizens Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in our city and a place of immense historical significance. Time has taken its toll on this sacred ground. We need your help to breathe new life into this historic space.
Join us as we work together to pick up litter and debris, trim overgrown vegetation, clean and maintain informational kiosks, and more!
What to Bring: Please wear closed-toed shoes and clothes you don't mind getting dirty. We will provide all necessary tools and gloves. We recommend wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt to prevent exposure to poison ivy.
Parking: When you arrive, please enter through the black gate on Mocs Alumni Drive. Enter the address 728 Mocs Alumni Dr into your GPS, and it should take you right by the gate. See the photos below for more detail.
All are welcome! Volunteers of all ages are invited to participate, but all volunteers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a guardian.
Have a question? Please email aadderholt@chattanooga.gov
We look forward to working with you to restore this treasured piece of Chattanooga's history.
This message was delivered to all volunteers who registered by 9/26. If you are a walk-up volunteer or are registering right before the event, please read to be prepared for the day.
Hello, incredible volunteers!
We are so excited to have you all at our clean up event tomorrow! I have just a few quick notes for our project:
The weather tomorrow is looking nice! I am seeing temps around 80 tomorrow by the time we wrap, and it will be pretty humid. Storms are expected tomorrow afternoon, but we should be all wrapped up before they roll through. It looks like the UV index for tomorrow morning is high, so please bring sunscreen if necessary. We will have SPF 30 sunscreen available as well.
Tomorrow's tasks include: Overgrowth trimming/removal, removing fallen brush/debris, picking up litter both in the cemetery and around the perimeter, filling in grave depressions with dirt, and if time allows, we will have a few folks cleaning headstones with soft brushes and water.
Dress: Volunteers must wear closed-toed shoes and clothes they don’t mind getting dirty.
Risk of poison ivy/oak: We have seen these plants in some of the overgrowth. We recommend wearing long sleeves and pants to prevent exposure. We will provide gloves as well. If you have an extreme sensitivity and/or do not want to participate in this task, we will find an alternate activity for you.
Parking: Please visit the event page to see the parking map/photo reference. The entrance to the cemetery will be near 728 Mocs Alumni Drive.
Waivers: We will have waivers for everyone to sign tomorrow upon arrival.
Personal tools: We will have tools available for you to use, like litter grabbers, loppers, rakes, wheelbarrows, shovels, buckets, handsaws, brushes, etc… If you have personal tools that you would like to bring, please feel free! For everyone’s safety, volunteers are not allowed to use any type of powered saw. However, volunteers may use things like leaf blowers and weed-eaters. If you choose to bring personal tools, we will have an additional waiver for you to sign.
Food/drink: We will have water available, and we strongly encourage bringing a reusable water bottle. You are welcome to bring snacks/lunch with you!
Bring a friend! Many hands make light work, and we are accepting walk-up volunteers.
If you have a question about anything not covered, please let me know by 5pm today. You can email me at aadderholt@chattanooga.gov.
Thank you again for volunteering with us, your work tomorrow will make a huge impact on this sacred space!
