Volunteers will be seen in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) through November for service hour opportunities. The National Public Lands Day Litter Patrol day was the first volunteer opportunity of many this fall in the park, known as "Smokies Service Days." Volunteers in bright yellow vests were picking up trash this past Saturday in the Great Smokies as the first program. "I think it's important for everybody to learn how much litter gets left when you don't realize it, and how much it adds up, all the little tiny pieces," said Roxy Martin, a resident of Cosby.

Jennifer Webb, a writer for WATE.com, relates in her article: "Volunteers keep the park beautiful for visitors." She spoke with a volunteer working at the sign-up booth in Metcalf Bottoms in GSMNP, who stated: "We have that side of our mission where it's about preserving and protecting our natural and cultural resources like our wildlife, the iconic elk and the bears," said Logan Boldon. "We don't want to have trash laying out for them because it will draw them into areas that are habituated. Then there's the side of the mission where we are here for the enjoyment, inspiration, education of the public." Martin says she hopes Sunday's volunteer work will inspire her grandkids to want to do more. The next upcoming service day will be Sept. 29 called "Campground Clean-Up at Smokemont."

For a full list of volunteer opportunities and dates, visit the full article here.