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PG&E and the California State Parks Foundation Team Up for Earth Day Restoration Work on April 21

Posted on: Monday, 16 April 2007, 18:00 CDT

SAN FRANCISCO, April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company today announced that it is granting $155,000 to the California State Parks Foundation to help fund long overdue restoration and environmental improvement projects. Additionally, more than 1,000 PG&E employees, retirees and their families will work alongside community volunteers on Earth Day, Saturday, April 21, to help clean up and restore 16 state and community parks in northern and central California.

2007 marks the sixth consecutive year the utility has partnered with the California State Parks Foundation on the Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup program. Over the past six years, PG&E has granted over $600,000 to fund vital maintenance and improvement projects at California's parks, with over 2,700 PG&E employees contributing 10,708 volunteer hours on Earth Day.

At 16 park sites on April 21, PG&E volunteers will plant trees and shrubs, remove invasive non-native plants, clear trash and debris, and make other improvements to parks, such as installing irrigation systems. PG&E will also provide volunteers with free energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs to help them reduce their carbon footprint. In 2006, nearly 900 PG&E employees and their families volunteered at a dozen parks across the state, where they planted more than 2,000 trees and plants, removed approximately 725 bags of trash and laid 25 tons of trail rock on Earth Day.

"Protecting the environment and giving back to the community are two values that are tightly woven into the fabric of PG&E's culture, so teaming up with California State Parks Foundation for the annual park restoration and cleanup campaign is a perfect partnership," said PG&E CEO Tom King. "We are so proud of the hundreds of energized PG&E employee volunteers who walk the environmental stewardship talk and make a powerful difference in the communities we serve."

Community participation at parks on Earth Day is critical this year, as continued funding pressures and a backlog of more than $1.2 billion in deferred maintenance projects threaten the vitality of parks and beaches across the state. California's 278 state parks comprise more than 1.5 million acres of land which needs to be maintained.

"PG&E's ongoing support of the California State Parks Foundation's Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup program has been a major factor in its success," said Elizabeth Goldstein, President of the California State Parks Foundation. "Over the past five years, they have contributed not only financially, but through the hard work of over 2,700 employee volunteers. Their partnership has given under-funded, understaffed parks the opportunity to complete long deferred projects that otherwise would not have been possible."

The California State Parks Foundation celebrates the 10th anniversary year of the Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup Program on April 21. Since its inception in 1998, the California State Parks Foundation Earth Day program has had tremendous impact: 54,500 participants have contributed more than 222,315 volunteer hours worth an estimated $5,042,126 in park maintenance and improvements. Including $90,000 in grants distributed this year, the Foundation has awarded more than $898,000 to state parks throughout California.

On Saturday, April 21st, volunteers are needed to join Pacific Gas and Electric Company employees, retirees and their families, and the California State Parks Foundation at the following 16 park locations:

PARK TIME LOCATION ACTIVITY East Shore State 10am-12pm West Frontage Road Shoreline cleanup; non- Park & University Avenue, native plant removal at Alameda County Berkeley beach and trails Bidwell Mansion 8am-12pm 525 The Esplanade in Landscaping projects State Park Chico Esplanade and around the carriage Butte County Memorial Way house and general cleanup Millerton Lake 10am-1pm Millerton Lake SRA Planting native plants State Recreation Fort Miller and trees. Refurbishing Area Campground campfire center and Fresno/Madera completing a nature County trail Patrick's Point 8:30am-1pm Visitor Center Removal of invasive State Park parking lot off species, plant trees, Humboldt County Patrick's Point repair trails Drive Beach Park 8am-12pm North end of park Tree planting Kern County near Cancer Survivor Memorial Samuel P. Taylor 8am-1pm Azalea Picnic Area Vinca removal, trail State Park work, creek cleanup, Marin County non-native plant removal Auburn State 8am-1pm Old Foresthill River and park cleanup, Recreation Area Bridge, Old graffiti removal, Placer County Foresthill installation of kiosks Road, off Hwy 49 Folsom Lake 8am-1pm Negro Bar unit of Removal of vegetation, State Rec Area Folsom Lake, restoration of historic Sacramento County Greenback Lane at Folsom Powerhouse After Folsom Auburn Road Bay and Powerhouse Canal Trail Golden Gate Park 9am-1pm Speedway Meadow, Pruning/invasive plant San Francisco Golden Gate Park removal, habitat County restoration Visitacion 9am-1pm Campbell and Removal of noxious Valley Rutland Streets weeds, planting native Greenway plants, mulching. San Francisco County PARK TIME LOCATION ACTIVITY Caswell Memorial 8:30am- 28000 S. Austin Repairing campfire State Park 12:30pm Road, Ripon center, litter cleanup, San Joaquin Day-use parking area refurbishing County interpretive panels Montana de Oro 8:30am-1pm Quonset Hut, Spooner Constructing ADA State Park Cove day use area pathways within San Luis Obispo the park County Natural Bridges 8am-2pm 2531 West Cliff Tree planting, State Beach Drive, Santa Cruz irrigation system San Mateo County installation, habitat restoration Half Moon Bay 9am-12pm Francis Beach Non-native plant State Beach main parking lot, removal, beach San Mateo County off Highway 1 cleanup Annadel State 10am-2pm Warren Richardson Install split rail, Park parking lot, 6201 curbs and interpretive Sonoma County Channel Drive signage. Elkhorn Regional 9am-12pm Old River Road Planting native Park grasses, removing Yolo County invasive plants, cleaning up host area

Please join us for the 2007 Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup Program. To volunteer or for more information, please visit http://www.pge.com/ and http://www.calparks.org/.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

CONTACT: PG&E News Department, +1-415-973-5930

Web site: http://www.pge.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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