PG&E and California State Parks Foundation Join Efforts for Earth Day

Utility Offers Cash Grant, Employees Volunteer for 16 Park Restoration Projects 


SAN FRANCISCO, April, 23  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is joining the California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) on Saturday, April 25, to celebrate Earth Day and clean up and restore 16 parks in Northern and Central California. PG&E is granting $170,000 to CSPF to help fund these events, and more than 1,000 company employees, retirees and their families are expected to participate in volunteer efforts.

"PG&E has a proud history of environmental initiatives and contributions and we are honored to partner with the California State Parks Foundation once again to improve our parks," said Peter A. Darbee, President and CEO of Pacific Gas and Electric Company.  "Thousands of our employees have volunteered over the years to better their communities and the environment. We look forward to building upon those efforts this Earth Day as we work to restore these scenic areas."

This year marks the eighth consecutive year that PG&E has partnered with CSPF on the Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup program. Overall, PG&E has granted more than $850,000 to fund vital maintenance and improvement projects at California's parks with more than 5,000 PG&E employees contributing thousands of volunteer hours.

At 16 park sites on April 25, PG&E volunteers will clean up the shoreline, plant trees and shrubs, remove invasive non-native plants, clear trash and debris, and make other improvements, such as painting over graffiti and installing an irrigation system.

"Now, more than ever, it is important to be involved with Earth Day programs across the state," said Elizabeth Goldstein, president of the California State Parks Foundation. "PG&E's support of Earth Day over the years, including the impressive participation of their employee volunteers, helps CSPF complete park projects and protect California's historic and natural treasures."

The CSPF celebrates the 12th anniversary of the Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup Program on April 25. Since its inception in 1998, the CSPF Earth Day program has had tremendous impact: 63,000 participants have contributed more than 265,000 volunteer hours worth an estimated $5,250,000 in park maintenance and improvements. Including this year's grants, the Foundation has awarded more than $1.1 million to parks throughout California.

On Saturday, April 25, PG&E employee volunteers, retirees, and their families will join the CSPF at the following 16 locations:

  PARK                        TIME                       PROJECTS

  Martin Luther King Jr.    9:00 am to Noon        Shoreline cleanup, trail
  Regional Shoreline                               litter abatement and non-
  Alameda County                                   native plant removal

  Mt. Diablo State Park     9:00 am to 1:00 pm     Removal of exotic plants,
  Contra Costa County                              native plant restoration,
                                                   trail maintenance, litter
                                                   pickup and fence
                                                   installation

  Millerton Lake State      9:00 am to 1:00 pm     Clearing of invasive non-
  Recreation Area                                  native plants,
  Fresno/Madera County                             landscaping, waterfront
                                                   and park cleanup and fish
                                                   habitat restoration

  Patrick's Point State     9:00 am to 1:00 pm     Habitat restoration,
  Humboldt County Park                             removal of weeds and
                                                   invasive plants

  The Park at Riverwalk     8:00 am to 1:00 pm     Habitat restoration,
  Kern County                                      tree planting,
                                                   installation of tree
                                                   guards to protect young
                                                   trees from animal damage

  Angel Island State Park   9:00 am to 1:00 pm     Beach cleanup, vegetation
  Marin County                                     management, drainage and
                                                   culvert maintenance and
                                                   exotic plant removal

  Samuel P. Taylor          9:00 am to 1:00 pm     Trail repair and cleanup, State Park                                       fence repair and litter
  Marin County                                     removal

  The Big River Unit of    11:00 am to 4:00 pm     Invasive plant removal
  Mendocino Headlands
  State Park
  Mendocino County

  Auburn State              8:00 am to 1:00 pm     Park clean up, remove
  Recreation Area                                  vehicles and debris from
  Placer County                                    the canyons, install
                                                   park benches along hiking
                                                   trails and paint over
                                                   graffiti

  Folsom Lake State         9:00 am to 1:00 pm     Removal of vegetation
  Recreation Area                                  around historic
  Sacramento County                                structures and major
                                                   trash cleanup
                                                   along historic canal
                                                   trail that runs
                                                   along the American River

  Candlestick Point         9:00 am to 1:00 pm     Planting, mulching,
  State Recreation Area                            habitat restoration,
  San Francisco County                             native plant propagation,
                                                   garden repair and
                                                   nursery improvements

  Caswell Memorial          9:00 am to 1:00 pm     Native rose and
  State Park                                       California blackberry
  San Joaquin County                               planting, removal of non-
                                                   native plants, trail
                                                   maintenance and litter
                                                   pickup

  Montana de Oro State      8:30 am to 1:00 pm     Trail maintenance,
  Park                                             rehabilitation,
  San Luis Obispo County                           brushing, trimming and
                                                   litter pickup

  Coast Dairies State       9:00 am to 1:00 pm     Habitat restoration,
  Park                                             removal of invasive
  Santa Cruz County                                plants and a
                                                   full-scale cleanup
                                                   of Laguna Beach

  Shasta State Historic     9:00 am to 1:00 pm     Remove overgrown
  Park                                             vegetation and
  Shasta County                                    invasive species, build a
                                                   fuel break to protect the
                                                   park from wildland fire

  Clarksburg River          8:30 am to 1:00 pm     Install irrigation system
  Access Facility                                  to help establish native
  Yolo County                                      plants, pick up trash
                                                   along riverbank




For more information on the volunteer project sites, please visit the CSPF website at http://www.calparks.org/programs/earth-day/ed09-project-sites.html.

About Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in northern and central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com/about/. 

DATASOURCE: Pacific Gas and Electric Company



CONTACT:  PG&E External Communications, [phone]; Julia Spiess,

[phone], , or Sarah Sheehy, [phone],

, both of California State Parks Foundation



Web Site:  http://www.pgecorp.com/index.shtml 

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