PG&E and California State Parks Foundation Join Efforts for Earth Day Utility Offers Cash Grant, Employees Volunteer for 16 Park Restoration Projects

Release Date: April 23, 2009
Contact: PG&E External Communications (415) 973-5930

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. Regional Shoreline Alameda County	9:00 am to Noon	Shoreline cleanup, trail litter abatement and non-native plant removal
Mt. Diablo State Park Contra Costa County	9:00 am to 1:00 pm	Removal of exotic plants, native plant restoration, trail maintenance, litter pickup and fence installation
Millerton Lake State Recreation Area Fresno/Madera County	9:00 am to 1:00 pm	Clearing of invasive non-native plants, landscaping, waterfront and park cleanup and fish habitat restoration
Patricks Point State Park Humboldt County	9:00 am to 1:00 pm	Habitat restoration, removal of weeds and invasive plants
The Park at Riverwalk Kern County	8:00 am to 1:00 pm	Habitat restoration, tree planting, installation of tree guards to protect young trees from animal damage
Angel Island State Park Marin County	9:00 am to 1:00 pm	Beach cleanup, vegetation management, drainage and culvert maintenance and exotic plant removal
Samuel P. Taylor State Park Marin County	9:00 am to 1:00 pm	Trail repair and cleanup, fence repair and litter removal
The Big River Unit of Mendocino Headlands State Park Mendocino County	11:00 am to 4:00 pm	Invasive plant removal
Auburn State Recreation Area Placer County	8:00 am to 1:00 pm	Park clean up, remove vehicles and debris from the canyons, install park benches along hiking trails and paint over graffiti
Folsom Lake State Recreation Area Sacramento County	9:00 am to 1:00 pm	Removal of vegetation around historic structures and major trash cleanup along historic canal trail that runs along the American River
Candlestick Point State Recreation Area San Francisco County	9:00 am to 1:00 pm	Planting, mulching, habitat restoration, native plant propagation, garden repair and nursery improvements
Caswell Memorial State Park San Joaquin County	9:00 am to 1:00 pm	Native rose and California blackberry planting, removal of non-native plants, trail maintenance and litter pickup
Montana de Oro State Park San Luis Obispo County	8:30 am to 1:00 pm	Trail maintenance, rehabilitation, brushing, trimming and litter pickup
Coast Dairies State Park Santa Cruz County	9:00 am to 1:00 pm	Habitat restoration, removal of invasive plants and a full-scale cleanup of Laguna Beach
Shasta State Historic Park Shasta County	9:00 am to 1:00 pm	Remove overgrown vegetation and invasive species, build a fuel break to protect the park from wildland fire
Clarksburg River Access Facility Yolo County	8:30 am to 1:00 pm	Install irrigation system to help establish native plants, pick up trash along riverbank

For more information on the volunteer project sites, please visit the CSPF website at http://www.calparks.org/.

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 www.pge.com/about.