Thank you so much Greater Victoria Green Team participants for your hard work and enthusiasm:
Alyssa, Angenlina, Annabelle, Antoni, Ashley, Becca, Ben, Cameron, Cassandra, Charlotte, Cheryl, Chloe, Claudia, Danielle, Dylan, Evan, Jade, Jason, Johnny, Krista, Lina, Luis, Mark, Matt, Nathan, Pablo, Paige, Rhykel, Robert, Sophia, and Sarah’s class of Esquimalt High School students!
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
- 43 community members engaged
- 87 hours contributed to habitat restoration
- 11 people removed invasive plants for the first time
- 16 people visited Highrock Cairn Park for the first time
- 11 cubic metres (about 69 bathtubs full) of invasive plants removed
- 200 square metres of forest revitalized
Highlights
- This activity took place as part of the Township of Esquimalt’s annual Earth Day celebration!
- We spent the day leading community members through removing invasive English ivy, and Himalayan blackberry plants from the lower parts of Highrock Cairn Park while many festivities took place throughout the park including info booths from local organizations, goats eating invasive plants, and youth from many local schools participating in a variety of hands-on activities.
- It was a beautiful spring day and the perfect way to celebrate nature together!
- We were joined by staff from local businesses: BC Ferries and Virgin Radio crews were on site working together to help revitalize Highrock Park!
- Students from Esquimalt High School joined us near the end of the day AND helped with packing up: thank you for your help!
- Special shoutout and thank you to community member Pablo who helped with set up, facilitation, taking photographs, and pack up of the activity!
- It was a very rewarding and empowering experience to return to this park and see the impact we had during last year’s Earth Day celebration and continue the great restoration work!
- We saw lots of wildlife throughout the park including deer, many different types of birds, and lots of worms!
- Habitat restoration is a very satisfying and empowering aspect of environmental stewardship in which to involve the local community and is a great way to connect people with neighbours and new friends.
- We had a lot of fun working together as a team to dig out big Himalayan blackberry roots, carrying tarps, and cheering each other on & motivating each other!
- Everyone loved the homemade vegan brownies, mini egg cookies, fresh fruit and veggies, nuts, and granola bars, to help keep energy levels up!
- Community members and passersby enjoyed the additional education provided by our plant signs, learning about identification in a fun, creative way!
- People came to this activity from all over the region. It was great to have a mix of first timers, newcomers to the community, and local longtime residents together! Everyone learned more about local native and invasive species together as a community!
- Participants demonstrated a high level of engagement, ambition, and enthusiasm regarding the impact of the invasive species removal efforts, and an excitement to return to the site to see the native wildflowers and young native trees flourishing!
Community Investment Partner
A huge THANK YOU to the Township of Esquimalt for working with our charity, Green Teams of Canada, and making this activity possible with funding provided through the local grants and direction provided by the Parks team!
Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.
In-Kind Support
A big thank you to our in-kind supporters: Green Beaver for providing their eco-friendly Maple Syrup flavoured lip balm products to our community participants to take home. This Canadian business has wonderful, sustainable products that support more responsible consumer choices!
If you’re interested in contributing in-kind or have ideas for potential partnerships, please contact Kaitlin. Your support makes a difference!
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
Our staff work hard to bring high-quality community activities to you. Partnership building, fundraising, outreach, social media, activity logistics, leading on-the-ground, reporting on impacts and more – they do it all!
Leading activities on the ground is Kaitlin Warren, Program Manager for the Greater Victoria Green Team, whose positive energy and passion for creating change inspire participants to take further action. Kaitlin is supported behind the scenes by Lyda Salatian, GTC Executive Director and Founder.
Together the Green Teams of Canada staff are fostering communities of environmental stewards and contributing to a brighter, greener future for all.