Thank you to our 40 Greater Victoria Green Team participants for their hard work and enthusiasm:
Akihiro, Akina, Amanda, Atlas, Bethany, Caitlin, Chloe, CJ, Earl, Emiko, Erik, Eugenia, Grey, Hana, Harry, Hinata, Jacob, Jacy, Jamie, Kaitlyn, Kate, Kiara, Lelito, Mark, Mason, Mia, Mieka, Mohammad, Nafiseh, Noah, Otone, Owen, Patrick, Piper, Porter, Rei, Rina, Rosanna, Siyu & Trevor
It felt like summer again on this warm sunny day spent connecting to others and to nature, all while restoring habitat! Keep on reading to find impacts, highlights and more from the day…
Impacts
- 40 community members engaged
- 128 hours contributed to habitat restoration
- 14 people removed invasive plants for the first time
- 21 people visited Colwood Creek Park for the first time
- 26 cubic metres (about 162 bathtubs full) of invasive Himalayan blackberry , English holly, and Morning glory removed
- 150 square metres of habitat revitalized
Highlights
- Atlas, who is Indigenous, opened our activity with a warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to everyone for caring for the ecosystem at Colwood Creek Park — a powerful and grounding way to start our work together!
- Mason arrived early to help with setup — a special thank you!
- John W. (CJ), who lives right across from the park, joined in and generously provided cold drinks, chocolate bars, and access to a washroom — thank you, CJ!
- Community members of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels joined us today, including folks from Colwood and beyond — Esquimalt, Langford, Saanich, Sooke, View Royal, Metchosin, Victoria, and even as far as the Cowichan Valley!
- Otone and Rina met and became friends through this activity! They even worked together to collect all our directional arrows at the end — much appreciated!!
- Newcomers to the area got to meet and make new friends — we even saw a few phone numbers exchanged!
- We had quite a few families join us (Akhiro, Akina & Lelito | Patrick & Porter | Bahar & Amir | Rosanna, Mieka and Emiko)
- Many passersby thanked us for the work we were doing!
- Many furry dog friends came by for pets while we were working
- We had many yummy snacks & drinks like: oreo cookies, brownies, sugar donuts, spicy almonds, caramel chips, granola bars, strawberry bars, grapes, carrots, bananas, mandarins, chocolate bars, lemonade & apple juice. A thank you to Kate for helping to set it all up!
- A big thank you to EVERYONE who helped pack up our tools and supplies!
- We built on work of past activities by putting a stop to any invasive blackberry that was starting to regrow in areas we previously cleared. Check out our recent efforts removing invasive plants at this park on Sept 7,2025, July 5, 2025 and planting native species on May 11, 2025.
- Green Teams first started working in this park in 2014, and it’s incredible to see how much healthier and more vibrant the ecosystem has become thanks to ongoing community stewardship.
What Community Members Said
Atlas talking about how today felt really special because this is one of her cousins’ territorial land and it’s nice not matter what culture or background was helping today!
Patrick talking about how how nice it is to help the ecosystem
Kate talking about how much she loves educating herself and giving back
Amanda talking about loving stewardship and meeting new people
Kiera talking about coming out for the first time and loving being outdoors!
Mieka – a participant who has been with us for 6 years, talking about how nice it is to connect with new people
CJ, who lives across from the park, talking about how important it is to give back
Community Investment Partner
THANK YOU to the City of Colwood for providing the financial support, ecological expertise and guidance for this activity!
Through this partnership, we are creating opportunities for community members to come together, connect with each other and nature, and take care of the environment!
Our next Colwood activity will be back at Colwood Creek Park on Saturday Oct. 18 for TD Tree Days!
In-Kind Support
A big thank you to our in-kind supporters for donating products to show appreciation for our community members:
- LUSH for sharing their eco-friendly personal care products such as body scrubs, body wash and lotions
- Gathering Place Trading for sharing their fair-trade and organic spices
These Canadian businesses have 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 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 behaviour 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 Possible
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!
This activity was run by special guest Lyda, Green Teams of Canada’s Founder and Executive Director, with support from the Greater Victoria Green Team’s Program Assistant, Nicola!
Interim Partnerships Manager, Kaitlin, who works hard behind the scenes to run and grow our Greater Victoria Green Team, also supported this activity behind the scenes!