Thank you so much Lower Mainland Green Team participants for your hard work and enthusiasm:
Anthony, Catherine, Cathy, Erick, Ethan, Fara, Gary, Haiyan (Kim), Horace, Howard, Jackson, Jake, Jan, Jason, Jay, Jennifer, Joakim, Kathleen, Katie M., Katie S., Lena, Lindsay, Lyda, Marcus, Michelle, Milena, Naya, Nicholas, Olivia, Oswaldo, Oxana, Penny, Phuc, Ray, Rodolfo, Steven, Suzie, Tom, Tristan, Victoria, Wei Chu (Jamie), Wei Fairy (Violet)
We had a fantastic time restoring habitat at this park by removing invasive Himalayan blackberry, English ivy and English holly! It was a beautiful day to be one with nature and connect with new people, which showed through their fantastic work and smiling faces. Keep reading our impacts, highlights and more from the day…
Impacts
- 42 community members engaged
- 30 people visited this park for the first time
- 135 hours contributed to habitat restoration
- 15 people removed invasive plants for the first time
- 15 cubic metres of invasive plants were removed (equivalent to the volume of 93 bathtubs!)
- 470 square metres of habitat revitalized
Highlights
- This was our first activity in Pitt Meadows of 2024!
- This activity was featured in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News TWICE! Read the articles below (or find them under the Media Coverage section of our website):
- Everyone’s work today removing invasive plants laid the foundation for a successful upcoming native planting in this location on April 21st!
- Many community members expressed gratitude for the chance to explore a new green space, one nearby local resident who has lived in Pitt Meadows since 1993 was excited to visit this park for the first time!
- Several locals and passersby approached us to thank us for our efforts & hard work, and appreciated the City’s commitment to improving this lovely park for everyone’s enjoyment
- Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland, including from North Vancouver, Abbotsford, Surrey, Burnaby, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Langley, New Westminster, Richmond, Coquitlam, West Vancouver, Port Coquitlam, and Vancouver
- People of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels came out including students from New Westminster, families with little ones, returning LMGTers, first timers and newcomers from China and Iran
- Everyone enjoyed sharing a variety of delicious snacks including homemade vegan brownies & veggies with dip
- Special thank you to:
- Steven for arriving early to help with set up
- Jan and Naya for helping to set up and pack up our snacks
- Jan, Gary & Suzie who led the take down of our supplies, and Lena, Lindsay, Penny and the many hands who helped to pack the van
- Each and every person who joined us for their warmth & enthusiasm throughout the day!
Community Investment Partner
THANK YOU to the City of Pitt Meadows for providing the financial support and direction to make this activity possible!
Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.
We can’t wait to return on April 21st to plant native trees & shrubs in celebration of Earth Day!
In-Kind Support
Thank you to the fantastic Kicking Horse Coffee for donating 100% Certified Organic, Fairtrade Coffee which volunteers took home as a grand prize for removing the biggest root!
Please contact Ashton Kerr if you are interested in providing in-kind or have suggestions for businesses to contact.
Why We Do This Work
The Lower Mainland 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
Lower Mainland Green Team Program Manager, Ashton Kerr, and Program Coordinator, Andrea Robles, work hard behind the scenes to bring these high-quality activities to you.
Partnership building, fundraising, outreach, social media, activity logistics, leading on-the-ground, reporting on impacts and more – they can do it all!