On Sunday September 19, 2021 the Lower Mainland Green Team joined forces with the City of Coquitlam in removing invasive plant species from Mundy Park.
While clouds loomed overhead, dozens of community members showed up ready to get their hands dirty, most having never done anything similar. Suited up with gloves, tools and knowledge from our instruction talk, everyone set out to remove invasive Himalayan blackberry, English ivy and English holly from this local ecosystem to build on other restoration work being done in this park.
In addition to learning how to identify these invasive species, participants also familiarized themselves with similar looking native species including Salmonberry and Trailing blackberry. They then directly applied this knowledge throughout the activity to ensure the correct plant was removed for a hands-on education experience.
This activity followed the COVID-19 Safety Plan of our charity, Green Teams of Canada, and current province-wide restrictions with safety measures in place to ensure participants could connect with each other and nature safely.
Thank You!
Thank you to all of the hard-working, eager community members who attended this activity: Saerim, Diana, Jaewon, Doug, Anson, Wing Lum(Rachel), Niki, Rochelle, Ryan, Riley, Nicole, Michael, Rylan, Edward, Jai, Willis, Glen, Emily, Katie, Darrence, Benjamin, George, Jason, Dylan, Kiera, Kiera, Rawan, Craig, Ellen, Jonghyun, Nicole, Alisha, Jason, Tiffany and Ashley.
An extra big thank you to our experienced LMGT volunteers, Doug and Diana, who not only arrived early to help with set up and checking people in, but offered their expertise and leadership to help the activity run smoothly. Both Doug and Diana also attended our activity the day before at West Beach in White Rock, so they had an extra busy weekend with us!
Thank you also to Nicole, another volunteer who is no stranger to the Green Team, who helped with setting up refreshments for everyone in a beautiful manner!
Many thanks to Monica and Marianne with the City of Coquitlam for partnering with us to make this activity possible!
This activity was full and had a growing waitlist, and participants from the day were already asking about the next time the Lower Mainland Green Team would be back in the Tri-City area. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the City of Coquitlam to further our mission to connect people to each other and nature for the health of participants and the environment. Thank you for supporting our valuable work!
Check out ALL PHOTOS from the day HERE!
Group Photo
Highlights
- 35 community members participated and contributed 112 hours total
- A majority of participants were local students from SD43 looking to acquire volunteer hours and make a difference in their community. We would like to thank the school district and teachers for helping get the word out about this activity!
- Over 6 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry, English ivy and English holly was removed (equivalent to the volume of about 41 bathtubs!) including stubborn blackberry root crowns which require more effort to remove but take up less volume
- 14 volunteers visited Mundy Park for the first time
- 31 volunteers removed invasive plant species for the first time
- A variety of items were uncovered when removing invasive plants from this area, including a broken baseball bat and a watering can
- Richard Stewart, the Mayor of Coquitlam, popped by on his bike and thanked everyone for their contributions!
- Volunteers took home a gift from one of our in-kind sponsors who generously donated their products to our community including: EarthRated dog poop bags, tea lights and matches from Honey Candles, West Coast Seeds, Swedish dishcloths from Swedethings, Crush and Brush Toothpaste Tablets from Nelson Naturals and lip balm from Green Beaver!
- We were featured in the Tri-City News! Click HERE to read the article published prior to the activity.
What Volunteers Said
- “I felt the impact of the teamwork of the community how we made a huge difference to the invasive plants on Mundy park. It made me want to volunteer again, it was very fun too.” – Jason
- “Pulling up the english ivy was super satisfying and it also gave me a sense of accomplishment” – Jonhyun
- “I enjoyed the moment that we worked together.” – Ryan
- “This program gives everybody the opportunity to contribute to improving and conserving the local environment, which is very important as we move into the future.” – Jason
- “The whole thing was fun, and it was cool to see our progress throughout the day. It was also fun to work at a park so close to home, as I knew I was making a difference in a park that I visit often. I think this program is awesome for getting people outside, and getting some work done in the community.” – Benjamin
- “Ripping out plants with my friends was fun.” – Rylan
