The Greater Victoria Green Team spent the day engaging community members and 41 youth from Royal Bay Secondary in an area covered with Scotch Broom and Blackberry.
Scotch Broom was introduced to Vancouver Island in the 19th century, and has spread widely throughout Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. It grows 1-3 metres tall, so outcompetes the low-lying native plants for sunshine and soil nutrients. The plant spreads by seed, and can produce millions of seeds that live in the soil up to 30 years! By removing the invasive plants, we are helping the native vegetation regenerate and restore the natural soil composition and open habitat. Some of the native species we saw in the area were Oregon Grape, Trailing Blackberry, and Salal!
THANK YOU
Thank-you to everyone for participating: Ms. Greene and her 2 Grade 9 classes, Mr. Mcintosh and his “Science for Citizens” class, Ty, and Rachel!
Thank-you very much to The City Of Colwood for partnering with us and contributing to our Green Team activities and for recognizing the importance of collaboration in community engagement and ecological restoration!
Group Photo!
Highlights
- In total 41 youth and 2 community members participated and contributed to 50 volunteer hours!
- All 43 volunteers were introduced to the location, while 32 volunteers had never removed invasive species before!
- We removed 17 cubic metres of invasive plants!
- We removed almost the entire area of Scotch Broom, so this will create more chances for more diversity on this trail!
Before and After Photos
This activity not only benefitted the environment, but also the participants themselves. By being out in nature doing something positive as a team, our community members:
- Develop a sense of belonging to community and place
- Have improved mental and physical health
- Connect to nature, which leads to environmentally responsible behaviour
- Learn about local environmental issues and actions they can take
- Learn the value of bringing together people to work towards a common goal
- Become leaders in their communities
- Increase confidence, resilience and perseverance
Action Shots
