I Love My Park Day is a new statewide event organized by Parks & Trails New York to help improve New York’s parks and historic sites. The day will take place on Saturday, May 5.

Volunteers will participate in cleaning up park lands and beaches, planting trees and gardens, restoring trails and wildlife habitat, removing invasive species and working on various site improvement projects.

Local parks participating in the day are Grafton Lakes State Park, Grant Cottage State Historic Site, John Boyd Thacher and Thompson Lake State Parks, Mine Kill and Max V. Shaul State Parks, Saratoga Spa State Park, and Schodack Island State Park.

Click here to learn more about individual park events.

According to the Department of Environmental Conservation new recreational fishing regulations are now effective for summer flounder (fluke), scup (porgy) and black sea bass.

The new regulations are less restrictive than current rules and specify changes to minimum size limit, possession limit and open season for all three species.

"These regulation changes reflect improvements to populations of scup, black sea bass and summer flounder," said DEC Assistant Commissioner for Natural Resources, Kathy Moser in a statement. "The scup population is particularly robust at this time, and we encourage anglers to get out on the water and enjoy the increased opportunity for anglers to bring home freshly caught fish."

Below are new regulations from the DEC.

Summer Flounder: The new regulations include a 4-fish possession limit, a 19.5-inch minimum size limit and a May 1 through September 30 open season.

Local schools can participate in the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Green School program.

According to the DEC, schools across New York are making a difference in their communities with programs that help recycle, reduce waste, save energy and conserve resources.

The DEC has outlined benefits of becoming a green school:

• Prepare students to understand and act on the current and future environmental challenges that face all New Yorkers.
• Model environmental and conservation best management practices in their building and in landscape design and maintenance can reduce costs.
• Build partnerships with the local community to design and implement projects and programs that will result in a healthier environment and safer school.

The DEC has dedicated a website that details green schools and what they do.