Altruistic adlanders got down and dirty in the mud at the weekend, chipping in their time and labour as part of the Hands On New York charity drive.

It was trowels to the ready on Saturday as the 15th annual Hands On Day hit New York, giving enthusiastic volunteers the chance to show off their green fingers as part of an ongoing project to replant the city.

Volunteers from within the industry were mobilized by Lauren Hertzberg, producer at The Whitehouse. "NYC has given me so much in the four years that I have lived here that I wanted to return the favour. When I heard about NY Cares and Hands On NY Day, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to give back," says Hertzberg. "This was my third year organizing a group for Hands on NY Day. Our team consisted not only of people from The Whitehouse, but MassMarket, Psyop, Moxie, McCann, JWT, Nice Shoes, and Method as well. We jokingly named our team Editors Outdoors - so much of our time is spent inside that its great when we can all get outside and do some good with our friends in the advertising community."

MassMarket EP Rich Rama was among the many generous ad folk who donned their wellies and sunblock to take part. "NY Cares gives busy professionals, like most of us in our industry, the chance to give back to our community," he explains. "Not only does it give us a chance to help out our city for a day, but it also creates new friendships within our industry through teamwork. It's a great way to spend the day and it's a great way for the communities that are worked on to kick off the summer. A little bit of help definitely goes a long way."

Moxie Films production coordinator Emily Alexander-Wilmeth jumped at the chance to get involved and help out at Herbal Garden, a public space in Brooklyn. "I was inspired to take part because it feels good to help people and I wanted to be outside in a beautiful city garden. We cleaned, planted bulbs, painted and generally spruced up the site, helping the community surrounding the garden have a more beautiful space to spend an afternoon. The day was one of the first warm sunny Spring days in the city and everyone had a great time."

"Hands On New York Day brings together more than 5,000 caring New Yorkers to green New York City," said Gary Bagley, executive director of New York Cares. "Our volunteers planted an astonishing 20,000 trees in one day for the city - that's enough trees to fill an entire new Central Park. Hands On New York Day is another example of the amazing community spirit that makes New York City a great place to live and work."

Pics of the day are up on the New York Cares Flickr page

And more info about the event can be found here