The Sac State Sustainability team has added another project in effort to make the campus more environmentally aware, with the recent adoption of Mile 7 South of the American River Parkway.

The “Adopt a Parkway” program through the foundation allows organizations in the Sacramento area to “adopt” individual miles, becoming volunteer stewards of their adopted miles.

This includes clean-up efforts and monitoring the parkway for anything that needs attention from the American River Parkway Foundation, such as broken picnic tables, damage to the parkway itself or invasive plant species.

“This is a great relationship and we are incredibly happy to be partners with Sacramento State Sustainability,” said Meghan Toland, volunteer coordinator for the American River Parkway Foundation. “This will help all who use the parkway around Sacramento State, students and others who use the parkway for recreational use.”

Part of the agreement in becoming stewards is ensuring volunteer hours are met. At least 20 man hours must be completed per quarter. All trash bags, sign in sheets and volunteer resources are provided by the foundation.

According to Joey Martinez, Recycling and Sustainability Coordinator for Sacramento State, how and who completes 20 hours of required service is up to the volunteers.

“This can be 20 people committing one hour of their time or even 2 people committing 10 hours—as long as it adds up to 20 hours per quarter,” said Martinez.

For Sac State, this means faculty, students and staff will be able to have a hands-on experience in helping sustain the parkway that has become a staple for both the university and Sacramento.

“Mile 7 South has the potential to become a bigger part of the Sac State community in that it will allow for the members of said community to become more invested as its environmental stewards,” Toland said.

The campus population taking active steps in caring for the parkway is exactly what the American River Parkway Foundation looks for in volunteers,Toland said.

“Keeping the parkway clean is a big task,” he said. “It’s not something that magically happens overnight. We are excited that Sacramento State will keep the area clean and put awareness out there.”

Students interested in organizing or volunteering for a clean-up event for the American Parkway, or any other activities with Sacramento State Sustainability can contact the organization via email at [email protected].