Garry Point Park, Richmond – September 18, 2022

Highlights

• 53 community members of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels joined us and contributed 177 hours total
  • Thank you so much for all of your hard work and for making this day such a huge success: Naghmeh, Jason, Isaac, Gregory, Chrys, Etienne, Dila, Noreen, Joey, Talia, Kevin, Miggy, Jessica, Fernando, Mary Anne, Pamela, Angela, Jenehl, Jules, Nicole, Jiwon, Logan, Yelin, Adrian, Ray, Amy, Steven, Adrienne, Victoria, Tin Yau (Tiann), Nicole, Hoi Ning (Helin), Ian, Diana, George, Eva, Billy, Amos, Sylvie, Renee, Harry, Lesslie, Evelyn, Adil, Stephanie, Chelsea, Shuta, Charlie, Jan, Gary, Samuel, Hirdesh and Cheryl!
  • Our Green Team brought together people from Richmond (41!), Vancouver, Surrey, Coquitlam, North Vancouver and Burnaby!
• 29 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry was removed (equivalent to the volume of about 181 bathtubs), including LOTS of stubborn, massive roots. Be sure to check out the before and after photos at the bottom of the page!
• An area of 143 square metres had invasive plants removed from it and was revitalized
• 12 pounds (5.5 kilograms) of litter was removed including cigarette butts, a flashlight, bottles and cans, food wrappers, small pieces of hard plastic, styrofoam and miscellaneous pieces of metal
• 14 participants visited Garry Point Park for the first time
• 21 participants removed invasive plants for the first time
• This activity was featured in the Richmond News TWICE! Click the links to read the first article (published on Sept 13) and second article (published on Sept 19)! The second article also made it into print on September 22, 2022. Check out the e-edition of this paper and go to page A22!

On Sunday September 18, 2022 the Lower Mainland Green Team and the City of Richmond joined forces to engage community members in removing invasive Himalayan blackberry, Scotch broom and litter from Garry Point Park in Richmond.

53 amazing community members (a majority whom were local youth) came together to make a huge impact at this beautiful oceanside park. Wind and rocky terrain were no match for our committed volunteers who removed an absolutely GINORMOUS pile of invasive plants (scroll to the bottom of this page to see before and after photos, as well as our pile) and lots of litter, big and small! We were so impressed with the positive attitudes, teamwork and effort contributed by everyone, which made for an awesome day of community building and habitat restoration.

Look at all the litter collected during this activity!

While Himalayan blackberry produces delicious berries that humans, birds and animals all enjoy, this aggressive invasive plant tends to take over natural areas making it hard for anything else to grow. Focusing on removing roots so the plant doesn’t regrow, our work is creating space for more plants to grow to increase biodiversity, which in turn will help make the area more resilient and functional, not to mention beautiful.

Through this experience we are helping the community experience the benefits of being in nature with a welcoming group of people. Spending time in nature has been found to reduce levels of stress and anxiety, improve mood, memory and focus and also encourages getting physical exercise outside! The next time you need a break, head out for a walk to your local green space/park/trail to feel refreshed. Additionally, by providing experiences for people to be in nature safely together, we are helping participants cultivate a curiosity and deeper respect for nature, which helps instil responsible environmental behaviour that extends beyond our activities!

Our community members took home a gift from one of our in-kind supporters including Coconut Lip Balm from Green Beaver, Biodegradable Dog Poop Bags from EarthRated, Sleepy Lotion and Dirty/Sparkle Toothpaste Tablets from LUSH and Laundry Detergent Strips from Tru Earth! If you have any suggestions for sustainable/eco-friendly rewards, know of or own a business who would like to provide in-kind to our Green Team, please contact Ashton Kerr, Program Manager, at ashton@greenteamscanada.ca!

This activity was led by the Lower Mainland Green Team‘s Program Manager, Ashton Kerr, and Program Coordinators, Reenaz Nawar and Megan Walker. Reenaz and Megan have been hired as part of Green Teams of Canada‘s Youth Leadership Program and are gaining hands-on experience organizing and leading communities, and also helping strengthen and build our organization!

Thank You!

This activity was made possible thanks to funding from the City of Richmond’s Environmental Enhancement Grant and direction from City staff (thank you Magnus!).

Through partnership between our charity, Green Teams of Canada, and the City of Richmond, we are connecting, building and empowering diverse communities through hands-on activities that promote health, well-being and environmental stewardship!

What Volunteers Said…

“Removing the plants was a good workout and I enjoyed meeting like-minded folks. Huge impact to the oceanside, considering how much was removed. It felt good to be a part of restoring the environment.”

– Charlie

“meeting new people and removing invasive species with familiar friends and new friends is really fun! we also saw a couple of seals on the beach and that was a nice change of pace 😀 this program is educating people young and old about the importance of removing invasive species so that our native species have more room to grow. very very fun and cozy atmosphere would volunteer again 10/10”

– Jenehl

“I enjoyed meeting new people and helping out with the equipment. I feel it helps us take a look at how working hard as a community can help make it more safe and beautiful.”

– Chrys

“It was a unique experience as I have never removed invasive plants before and I’m glad I got to do it with friends.”

– Stephanie

“I liked how instead of only removing invasive blackberries we were given the option to pick up litter as well. The impact of this program is that it not only physically affects the environment that was being set as an activity, but it also helps bring light to invasive species, specifically the Himalayan blackberry, and how dangerous they can be.”

– Jessica

“I enjoyed spending time with my friends while helping the environment. I feel like the impact of this program is good because it was a great experience that I was lucky to be apart of and I found many intresting things that I haven’t seen or noticed before. Friendly people”

– Amy

Before and After Photos

(click images to make them bigger)