Invasive Blackberry Removal at Garden City Community Park, Richmond

May 23, 2026

This activity was organized in partnership with the City of Richmond

Thank you to all of the community members who joined us!

Adam, Adrian, Allison, Amy, Anya, Artemis, Athena K., Athena W., Balian, Connor, Cristian, Gary, Giselle, Jan, Jasmaya, Jing-Wen, Jiwon, Joey, John, Lenita, Liyan, Luena, Maya, Ming, Ray, Ruby, Ruisi, Sadi, Sarah, Sebastian, & Susie!

Community Impacts

31 community members were engaged, contributing 93 hrs to environmental action!

52% visited Garden City Community Park for the first time
35% removed invasive plants for the first time

23 participants completed a survey, and results showed:

87% felt inspired to take future environmental action
91% felt a sense of belonging & connection to others
100% felt their well-being improved
- 87% said time spent in nature contributed
- 74% said meeting people contributed
- 65% said helping the environment contributed
- 87% said being physically active contributed
91% increased their understanding of environmental issues
96% learned new things (e.g. impacts of invasive species)
91% developed new skills (e.g. teamwork & hands-on stewardship action)

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

8 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry and Creeping buttercup was removed (equivalent to the volume of 50 bathtubs!)
270 square metres of habitat were revitalized
26 lbs of litter was removed from the area

Highlights

Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland including from Richmond itself, Vancouver, Burnaby, North Vancouver, Coquitlam, & 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!
Several park users passing us by were happy to see the action being taken here and thanked us for our hard work!
We removed litter we came across including a water gun, a scooter, a wood frame, goggles, a hi-vis vest, blanket pieces, plastic wrappers, and bottles! Shoutout to Adam for taking the time to clean up a bunch of the litter we came across!
Adrian, Sebastian, Jiwon, & Ray worked alongside others to clear straight through a thicket of blackberry! Check out the before and after here and the cleared area on the left!
We uncovered some huge root crowns today and Jan & Gary amassed this BIG pile of impressive roots we removed! Getting these out of the ground is key to preventing re-growth!
Jiwon & Ray have been volunteering with us since 2012 and their son Adrian has been at our activities since before he was born!
Allison has been sharing her experiences at our activities with youth as an early childhood educator, including joining us during Earth Week at King George Park, to educate them about nature and as a positive role model for the actions these youth can take to make a difference as they grow up! She will be sharing her experience today with them too!
We saw some cute rabbits in the park too!
Many delicious snacks were enjoyed during our snack break, including fresh watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, & carrots as well as brownies, strawberry biscoff bites, jalapeno crackers, a spicy fava bean mix, Bublys, juice boxes, healthy granola bars, & more!
Special thank you to:
- Connor, Balian, Adrian, Ray, & Jiwon for helping pack-up at the end of the activity!

This was our first-ever activity at Garden City Community Park!
People of all ages, backgrounds, abilities, and experience levels came out including families, students, working professionals, retirees, first timers, returning LMGTers and newcomers!

What Community Members Said

24 participants shared what this activity meant to them:

"I got to make a difference in a local park I visit often, enjoy nature, get a good workout and made a new friend and professional contact while I was here! So many benefits to joining in. I hope there are more in Richmond in the future!"

"To me, this experience meant connecting even further with my community through learning more about nature and the overall environment. It meant I got to do something good for the environment whilst feeling proud of myself. Additionally, I was able to work with others to achieve a common goal, which was a great experience."

"There are many groups in the Lower Mainland that we can join, but the main reason we join the Lower Mainland Green Team is the fantastic leadership, caring and inclusive community that they have created with each and every activity. It warms the heart seeing how much can be accomplished in such a short time."

"I really loved the experience and learning about the invasive species. I really want to help the environment and learning how to take care of our planet. Thanks for the great learning experience and I hope to do more of this in the future!"

"It's nice to be out with other like minded people making a positive impact and experiencing new spaces otherwise I wouldn't go to."

"It is a good experience to take my daughters to join in the real connection experience with nature."

"To me this experience meant working with my friends to get a job done, it was very fun."

"It meant being able to help protect our local environment together with friends."

"I love helping the environment!"

"It means a lot. I appreciate these types of events. We have one earth after all."

"[This experience means] connecting with the environment and with like minded people."

"I really enjoyed making a difference in a new location."

Video of Joey & Liyan, speaking about connecting their family with nature, learning experientially, and being a part of the stewardship of this park!

Video of Sebastian, speaking about meeting new friends & helping the environment!

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 Nolan & Claudia for their valued contributions in bringing this activity to life.

In-Kind Support

Thank you to the following businesses for providing in-kind to support this activity:

Lush for providing their bath bombs & soaps prioritizing fresh ingredients, minimal packaging & no animal testing
OLA Bamboo for providing their made-in-Canada reusable bamboo cutlery to reduce plastic waste
Gathering Place for providing their fair-trade, organic spices sourced from sustainable farms in Canada & around the world

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 Max Muehlen, our Lower Mainland Green Team’s Program Manager with support from Ashton Kerr, the Acting Partnerships & Programs Director

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!