The Greater Victoria Green Team organized a community and environmental activity in Cunningham Woods at the University of Victoria! We had over 20 volunteers participate and tackle a HUGE area of invasive Himalayan Blackberry. The roots we dug up were quite large and must have been growing there for many years. We also removed English Ivy and another prickly invasive shrub – English Holly.
THANK YOU
Thank-you to everyone for participating:
Thank-you very much to the University of Victoria’s Campus Planning and Sustainability Office for partnering with us and contributing to our Green Team activities in your municipality and for recognizing the importance of collaboration in community engagement and ecological restoration!
Group Photo!
PHOTO ALBUM FROM THE EVENT IS FOUND HERE
Highlights
- In total 11 volunteers participated and contributed 30 volunteer hours.
- We had participants new to Victoria (welcome!), as well as two young children who were great at removing some of the longest stems of ivy!
- The children (and some of us adults), took a break to skip rope using the long ivy pieces! That got our heart rate up plus it was a lot of fun!
- We removed 5 cubic metres of invasive plants including English Ivy from an area measuring approximately 200 square metres!
- Check out the other GVGT activities from HMS Plumper Park
Before and After
Participant Experiences
“This program helps people connect to their local environment and community, raise awareness of conservation issues by taking action. Now we’re in the aftermath of the pandemic, events such as these are so important for people’s mental wellbeing, to socialize and contribute to the protection and regeneration of ecosystems. This was my first time volunteering for the Greater Victoria Green Team having recently moved from the mainland – it has been difficult meeting new people and this program has already helped with that!”
“This program’s goal is to connect people with nature. Many people with technology and increasing urbanization are becoming more disconnected with nature. I feel that the more we appreciate these areas, the more likely we will become advocates for them.”
Volunteers in Action
