The Greater Victoria Green Team spent the day engaging hundreds of community members and students alongside the Esquimalt Parks and Recreation Department and other amazing organizations!

31 Green Team community members joined in the Earth Day celebration by helping to remove invasive plants from about 250 square meters of the park!

Classes from schools around Highrock Park came to celebrate Earth Day and learn more about how they can protect our planet! There were rotating stations including native tree and shrub planting, trail building, and invasive species removal! Some of the native species we saw in the area were Oregon Grape, camas, osoberry, garry oak trees, native rose, and more!

Together we all helped remove about 19 cubic meters of invasive plants! Amazing team work everybody!

THANK YOU

Thank you to all the wonderful organizations that worked together yesterday to make an amazing time for all who participated!

Thank you to: Polly, Dianna, Kris, Paul, Blythe, Rachel, Thomas, Michael, Jaanvi, Meg, Tina, Melisa, Jamie, Barb, Tiberius, Melodie, Victoria, Anand, Consuelo, Ron, Rebecca, Arjeet, Jason, Aysha, Danielle, Caleb, and Larisa!

Thank-you very much to Esquimalt Parks and Recreation for facilitating this awesome event and for recognizing the importance of collaboration in community engagement and ecological restoration!

Group Photos!

Our Booth!

The Greater Victoria Green Team hosted an info booth in addition to running an activity station at this Earth Day celebration! Our program coordinator, Maria, and Green Team member, Dianna, chatted with many community members including passers by, teachers, parent volunteers, and similar groups interested in working towards a healthier Earth through collaborative leadership!

Highlights

• Hundreds of Esquimalt school children participated in trail building, planting, and invasive plant removal activities.
• 31 Green Team community members helped remove invasive plants from about 250 square meters of the park.
• 82 volunteer hours were contributed to removing invasive Himalayan blackberry from a 250 square meter section of the park!
• Together over the course of the day, the whole community was able to remove about 19 cubic meters of invasive plants!
• Hundreds of trees were given out by Esquimalt for participants to take home and plant!
• Around 40 community members were inspired, educated, and empowered through talking to members at our info booth about what we do, what they can do, and learning about a variety of ways to get involved in their communities.

Before … and After!

The 19 cubic meter pile of invasive Himalayan blackberry and English ivy that was removed over the course of the day

This activity not only benefitted the environment, but also the participants themselves. By being out in nature doing something positive as a team, 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

This activity was run by our program manager, Kaitlin, and program coordinator, Maria! Both were hired through the Youth Leadership Program. This new program seeks to teach, train, and empower the next generation of community leaders.