Thank you so much to the Lower Mainland Green Teamers that joined us for this activity!
Amanda, Amarjyoti, Amber, Angela, Arlon, Brid, Christina, Colton, Jill, Jordon, Katherine, Kurtis, Mannat, Navraj, Prabhnoor, Rashmin, Ryan D., Ryan R., Sandy, Tricia, Tracy, Trinity, Mia, Adelyn, Sarah, Danica, Alexa, Madeline, Brielle, Kathryn, and Fra. Athanasius, Br. Bartholomew, & the students of Westminster Abbey!
Everyone had a great time at this FireSmart activity in Mission connecting with their community while learning about how to remove woody debris & invasive plants to reduce wildfire risk in their community!
Read more about out Highlights & Impacts below!
Impacts
- 44 Community Members were engaged!
- 35 participants participated in a FireSmart activity for the first time!
- 35 participants visited the Gaudin Creek Trail for the first time!
- 20 participants removed invasive plants for the first time!
- 136 hours were contributed towards reducing wildfire risk and restoring habitat!
- 10.5 cubic metres (65 bathtubs!) of woody debris and 11.5 cubic metres (72 bathubs!) of invasive Himalayan Blackberry was removed to help FireSmart this trail!
- 392 square metres of habitat revitalized!
- Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland including from Mission itself, Langley, Maple Ridge, Surrey, Abbotsford, Burnaby, Port Moody, & Chilliwack!
- Our activities are designed to foster a sense of community that extends beyond municipal boundaries. Fire knows no borders and by engaging community members from throughout the region, we are reducing the risk of wildfire across the Fraser Valley and beyond as part of our shared responsibility for our environment!
Highlights
- This was our second activity in Mission! We were so excited to connect with new faces and those returning from our Fall activity too as we make great progress in stewardship here!
- We learned about the FireSmart principles helping to reduce wildfire risk in our communities! Check out the City of Mission’s FireSmart Page to learn more!
- Mission Acting Mayor Ken Herar joined us to help open the activity and thank the gathered community members for their hard work! Councillor Jag Gill and Councillor Danny Plecas also stopped by to cheer us on and share their appreciation!
- Participants learned a lot about Himalayan Blackberry and saw the negative impacts these plants can have on the environment as well as the fire risk they can represent!
- Participants learned how to tell the difference between these invasives and important native plants like Salmonberry & Thimbleberry around the site. We created space for these native plants to grow here instead!
- You can apply FireSmart principles in your own green spaces and create a wildfire-resistant garden with native plants by checking out the FireSmart BC Landscaping Guide!
- We were joined by the 2nd Willoughby Girl Guides led by Amber (Guider Ducky), Christina (Guider Princess), & Tracy (Guider Twinkletoes)! These Girl Guides did amazing work while learning about invasive plants!
- A big thank you to Frater Athanasius & Brother Bartholomew who joined us with students of Westminster Abbey! These students worked hard while connecting with their community and learning about giving back to it!
- At our snack break, everyone enjoyed hot chocolate, hot dogs, shrimp crisps, popcorn, a spicy fava bean mix & more, refueling with these tasty treats!
- Many of our participants including local Mission residents explored the Gaudin Creek Trail for the first time!
- Thank you to Erica with the Fraser Valley Invasive Species Society who brought some wonderful educational materials, helped pulling invasive plants, and shared more information with the community members!
- We even found a discarded Christmas tree we were able to remove!
- A HUGE thank you to Bonnie who saw the work we were doing and made a donation to show her appreciation!
- Several passersby were excited to learn about the work to reduce wildfire risk in their neighbourhood and shared their thanks for our efforts too!
- Shout out to Kurtis, Amanda, Colton, & Ryan who all helped to pack up at the end of the activity!
What Community Members Said
Videos of participants talking about the impact of this activity:
Video of the 2nd Willoughby Girl Guides speaking about their favourite parts of the day!
Video of Tricia speaking about the great opportunity this activity represented to connect with her new community while making a great difference and having fun!
Video of Seth & Braden talking about the great difference they could make in the community!
Video of Prabhnoor speaking about learning lots about invasive species while having fun, eating tasty food, and earning volunteer hours!
Community Investment Partner
THANK YOU to the Mission Fire and Rescue Service for being a Community Investment Partner and providing the financial support and direction to make our work in Mission possible!
This was our second-ever activity in Mission and we are so excited to be connecting with the community here in partnership with Mission Fire! Together, we are creating opportunities for community members to come together, connect with each other and nature, learn about how and directly contribute to reducing wildfire risk in our communities using FireSmart principles.
Thank you to Maisyn for her role in helping to organize this activity and educating about the FireSmart program! A special thank you as well to Mission Fire member Ryan who joined us at the activity!
Supporters
Special thanks to Andy & John with the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services for providing tasty treats to all our volunteers including delicious hot chocolate, hot dogs, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, chips, and more at our snack break!
They do important work to support community members and first-responders in emergency and disaster situations including the wildfires we were working to help prevent today!
Following our Cleanup today, the Mission Environmental Stewardship Society led by Kimberly hosted a great litter cleanup of the Gaudin Creek Trail and neighbourhood, removing 100lbs of litter!
This was yet another positive impact to the day and several of our community members stayed to contribute to the cleanup as well! Special shoutout to those who participated in both activities today!
Check out their website here, their Instagram here, or reach out to Kimberly at info@messociety.ca to find out how you can get involved!
In-Kind Support
Thank you to Lush for providing their fantastic shower gels, body conditioner, body lotion, and more with natural ingredients, sustainable packaging, and made in Canada! Our participants were really happy to take these gifts home!
If you’re interested in contributing in-kind or have ideas for potential partnerships, please contact Ashton Kerr. Your support makes a difference!
Why We Do This Work
The Lower Mainland Green Team is a program of the charity Green Teams of Canada.
We believe in the transformative power of hands-on environmental activities to empower individuals and strengthen communities.
Through initiatives like invasive plant removals, tree plantings, and litter clean-ups, we not only foster connections among participants but also deepen their relationship with nature. Spending time outdoors has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety while enhancing mood, focus, and overall mental and physical health.
Our activities are designed to be inclusive, welcoming individuals of all backgrounds, ages, abilities, and skill levels.
What sets us apart is we attract a wide mix of young community members who may not otherwise spend time outside, igniting their passion for nature and environmental care.
We are committed to instilling an environmental ethic that leads to lasting behavior change. We aim to create a sense of belonging and connection to place, encouraging participants to recognize their ability to make a meaningful impact.
Together, we can all make a difference. Join us as we build a brighter, greener future for everyone!
Staff Who Made This Activity Happen!
Our staff work hard to run high-quality community activities. Outreach, activity logistics, social media, reporting on impacts, partnership building and more – they do it all!
Max Muehlen, our Lower Mainland Green Team’s Program Manager, and Ashton Kerr, the Lower Mainland Green Team’s Partnerships Manager, led this activity together!
Simryn Dhensaw, our Lower Mainland Green Team Program Assistant, supported behind the scenes!