Volunteering is a wonderful way to care for your community, meet new people, learn new things and feel connected to the world around you. Volunteering in the parks has the added perk of being outdoors, in some of our most scenic spots throughout San Mateo County.
Here are our top ten ways you can volunteer in San Mateo County Parks. No matter where you are in San Mateo County, there is a nearby park needing some love and attention from you.
By Korrine Skinner, Board Chair
Twenty years ago marked a turning point for San Mateo County’s park system, which was then showing the strain of a decade of declining funds and increasing use. In the 1990s, revenue allocated to local governments was shrinking and mandated expenses growing, leaving little left for the county’s 19 parks.
By 1998, park use boomed to more than 3 million visitors a year, yet inadequate funding led to reduced staffing and a backlog of nearly $25 million in deferred maintenance, improvements and programs.