Thank you so much Greater Victoria Green Team participants for your hard work and enthusiasm:
Aaron, Amy, Anthony, Chad, Chloe, Daya, Deanna, Gaogao, Jamie, Judy, Karen, Kuenley, Livleen, Mieka, Mike, Miranda, Peter, Rebecca, Rena, Rena, Rosanna, Sangay, Sara, Tshering, Yangfan, and Yangyi!
What a fun day we had connecting people to one another and nature, all while restoring habitat! Keep on reading to find impacts, highlights and more from the day…
Impacts
- 28 community members engaged
- 131 hours contributed to habitat restoration
- 12 people removed invasive Himalayan blackberry, English Ivy, and Scotch broom for the first time
- 17 people visited this park for the first time
- 9.5 cubic metres (59 bathtubs full) of blackberry, ivy, and broom removed
- 580 square metres of habitat revitalized
Highlights
- One of our community members, Daya, contributed her photography expertise for this activity! You’ll find some amazing portraits, in-action shots, and plant photos in our Flickr album from the activity! Thank you so much Daya for capturing some amazing moments!
- Everyone loved the brownies, cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, veggies, and granola bars to help keep energy levels up!
- Many community members stayed to help with pack up: thank you so much!
- Community members enjoyed the additional education provided by the plant signs, learning about identification in a fun, creative way!
- Esquimalt Gorge Park is a popular greenspace for the community, proving gorgeous water views, unique trails and pathways, all entering around the new Gorge Pavilion which hosts many events throughout the year!
- All ages, backgrounds, and experience levels were engaged including nearby residents, newcomers to Victoria, returning Green Team members, and first-timers!
Community Investment Partner
A huge THANK YOU to the Township of Esquimalt for partnering with our charity, Green Teams of Canada, and making this activity possible with their financial support and direction from their local grants program!
Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.
In-Kind Support
Thank you to the fantastic Canadian eco-friendly businesses If You Care, Green Beaver, and Honey Candles for donating in-kind for our hard-working community members to take home!
Please contact Kaitlin Warren. if you are interested in providing in-kind.
Why We Do This Work
The Greater Victoria Green Team organizes hands-on educational activities that have a positive environmental impact to empower people. Through activities such as invasive plant removals, plantings, litter cleanups and more, we are fostering connections with others and nature so that health and well-being is prioritized, lifelong environmental stewardship is promoted, and community members are enabled to take care of themselves, each other and the places they live. We all have the power to make a difference!
We all experience mental and physical health benefits from spending time in nature, including reduced stress and anxiety, and improved mood, focus, memory and more. While doing so, we can also have a positive impact on the environment as demonstrated through this activity!
Staff Who Made This Activity Possible
Greater Victoria Green Team Program Manager, Kaitlin Warren and Program Coordinator, Severine Tyszewicz, work hard behind the scenes to bring these high-quality activities to you.
Partnership building, outreach, social media, activity logistics, leading on-the-ground, reporting on impacts and more – they can do it all!
Severine was hired as part of Green Teams of Canada’s Youth Leadership Program, intended to empower the next generation of environmentally-focused community organizing.