This activity was organized in partnership with the City of Richmond
Thank you to all of the community members who joined us!
Jerome, Yuki, Michael, Penny, Najma, Ran, Doreen, Anoop, Omar, Allison, Yu bao, Shantelle, Ross, Clinton, Arzoo, Madison, Ethan, Oliver, Evan, Gary, Heather, Evan, Radha, Kensi, Jan, Nicola, Max, Vladimir, Tony, Connor, Cyrus, Clementine, Rahim, and Ryan!
Community Impacts
34 community members were engaged, contributing 109 hrs to environmental action!
- 50% visited Garden City Community Park for the first time
- 32% removed invasive plants for the first time
27 participants completed a survey, and results showed:
- 100% felt inspired to take future environmental action
- 96% felt a sense of belonging & connection to others
- 100% felt their well-being improved
- 93% said time spent in nature contributed
- 56% said meeting people contributed
- 78% said helping the environment contributed
- 74% said being physically active contributed
- 100% increased their understanding of environmental issues
- 93% learned new things, like the impact of invasive species
- 93% developed new skills like working in a team
Change starts with people. To have a lasting environmental impact, people need to feel connected, capable and empowered to take action.
Our activities are designed to increase:
- Community resilience & social connection
- Well-being through time in nature
- Participation in climate & environmental action
- Awareness of environmental issues
- Connection to local places & natural areas
- A culture of volunteerism & civic engagement
Environmental Impacts
- 21 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry were removed (equivalent to the volume of 131 bathtubs!)
- 255 square metres of green space in Garden City Community Park were restored!
Highlights
- Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland including from Richmond itself, as well as Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, New West, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, and Langley!
- Environmental & social issues don’t have borders. By bringing together people from across the region, participants see others showing up to care for places beyond their own neighbourhoods. This reminds us that we share responsibility for the people & places around us, and that we’re all in this together.
- Passersby thanked us for all of our work in the park, especially the lovely folks doing early morning Tai Chi near our meeting spot!
- A sweet rabbit hopped around our work site to make sure we did a good job!
- Thank you to Richmond City Councillor Michael Wolfe for coming out and bringing his daughter Clementine!
- Many delicious snacks were enjoyed during our snack break, including pumpkin spice biscotti, organic juice, fresh fruits and veggies, and cheezies!
- Special thank you to:
- Max, our previous LMGT Program Manager, for coming out to give back to this wonderful community and share his knowledge!
- Cyrus and Tony for being experts at finding those pesky Himalayan Blackberry root crowns!
- Shantelle, Connor, and Ethan for helping pack up our equipment super quickly!
- People of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and experience levels came out including families, students, working professionals, retirees, first timers, returning LMGTers and newcomers!
- We’ve been working at Garden City Community Park since early 2026! Check out our first activity below:
What Community Members Said
21 participants shared what this activity meant to them:
Video of Najma, speaking about her first time volunteering with the Lower Mainland Green Team!
Video of Arzoo, speaking about her experience removing invasive Himalayan Blackberry
Community Investment Partner
Delivered in partnership with the City of Richmond, our Community Investment Partner.
Green Teams of Canada and the City of Richmond are working together to achieve our shared environmental and community objectives.
The City provides ecological direction, while we bring expertise in community engagement – mobilizing people to take meaningful environmental action and inspiring future stewardship.
This partnership includes financial investment from the City to build connection, improve well-being, and create lasting environmental and community impact.
Special thanks to City staff Jackson, Nolan & Claudia for their valued contributions in bringing this activity to life.
In-Kind Support
Thank you to the following business for providing in-kind to support this activity:
- Lush for providing their bath bombs & soaps prioritizing fresh ingredients, minimal packaging & no animal testing
When socially and environmentally conscious businesses provide in-kind rewards for our community members, it helps us encourage local and responsible consumption beyond our activities.
Businesses can also further enable us to run high-quality, safe and impactful activities by providing gift cards, refreshments, tools, gloves, and other supplies.
If you’re interested in contributing in-kind or have ideas for potential partnerships, please contact Ashton Kerr.
Staff Who Made This Activity Possible
Our dedicated staff are passionate about community engagement and environmental action. Their work includes extensive outreach, activity logistics, social media, reporting on impacts, partnership building and MUCH more!
This activity was run by Paige Hunter, our Lower Mainland Green Team’s Program Manager with support from Olivia Koval, our Lower Mainland Green Team’s Program Assistant.
We Are All In This TOGETHER! The Future Depends on Us
The Lower Mainland Green Team is a program of the charity Green Teams of Canada, engaging communities in hands-on environmental action since 2011.
We bring people together to improve well-being and inspire environmental stewardship. Through activities like invasive plant removal, native species planting, and litter clean-ups, participants take practical action and see the impact they can make.
What sets us apart is our focus on people. Our activities are inclusive and accessible to all ages, abilities and experience levels, especially those new to environmental action. Many join for the first time, deepen their understanding of environmental issues and leave feeling capable and motivated to take future action.
We also strengthen and support the broader stewardship network by working with governmental agencies, non-profits, land trusts, volunteer-led groups, schools, and businesses, bringing new people into existing efforts and expanding their reach. Many participants go on to deepen their involvement, take on leadership roles, or contribute to other initiatives.
We believe lasting environmental change starts with people. By creating meaningful opportunities for people to take part, we help build more connected, resilient communities.
We can all make a difference!