(Washington) - On Thursday, June 12 Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton participated in the planting and establishment of the first of the "Take Pride in America Gardens" at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in conjunction with the Anacostia Garden Club and community volunteers. The gardens will be part of a nationwide effort sponsored by the America the Beautiful Fund working in partnership with the Take Pride in America program.

At the event, the America the Beautiful Fund announced it will make $1 million worth of garden seed available to the public. These seeds will be used for "Take Pride in America Gardens" in all 50 states and overseas territories. Applications for the seeds can be made at www.freeseeds.org.

"Take Pride in America Gardens will help to increase citizen stewardship and beautify public lands and communities through gardening projects. The garden planted at the home of Frederick Douglass will be the first of thousands of Take Pride in America Gardens to be planted this year," Secretary Norton says.

While we often think of volunteer efforts on public lands as cleaning up and restoring, they also include beautification."

The Frederick Douglass was a former slave, fervent abolitionist, orator, writer and editor. The Frederick Douglas National Historic Site was established in 1962 and is administered by the National Park Service, part of the Department of the Interior.