This Muslim youth group is keeping national parks clean during the government shutdown

National parks are supposed to be beautiful. This group of Muslim teenagers is making sure they stay that way.

Federal workers who usually take care of national parks have been furloughed amid the ongoing government shutdown. That means no one is getting paid to empty overflowing trash cans, manage sewage disposal, or maintain trails, potentially threatening the health of people who visit the closed parks anyway, per National Geographic.

That's where the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association comes in. The group has dispatched dozens of its members, all Muslim males age 7 to 40, to clean up parks around the country, CNN says.

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AMYA regularly cleans up communities as part of its service branch. So when it became clear there was no end to the government shutdown in sight, about 30 members started emptying trash cans around the National Mall and fishing trash out of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, reports The Washington Post. Dozens more gathered in Everglades National Park, outside Independence Hall, and at a handful of other parks to clean up this past weekend. "If there's an opportunity to serve, that is what Muslims do," said volunteer Sarmad Bhatti in describing the group's service ethos.

The National Parks Service has indicated it will dip into entrance fees to perform basic park services if the shutdown continues. Meanwhile, a group spokesperson said AMYA will keep looking for more parks to clean, and more volunteers to help do it.