Invasive Blackberry Removal at Terra Nova Rural Park, Richmond – September 16, 2023

September 18, 2023

Invasive Blackberry Removal at Terra Nova Rural Park, Richmond – September 16, 2023

Group photo of the awesome community members who joined us for this activity!

CLICK HERE to see PHOTOS from the day on our Meetup Page!

CLICK HERE to see PHOTOS from the day on our Flickr!

Highlights From The Day

62 amazing members of the community joined us and contributed 174 hours total!
- Thank you so much for your hard work and enthusiasm: Andy, Anji, Archer, Art, Ayden, Billy, Caixi, Casmond, Caymanh, Charlton, Clinton, David, Eden, Eli, Eris, Evan, Gavin, Hana, Heather, Hilel, Io, Ivan, Jaehyun, Jayden, Judy, Kaitlyn, Karson, Kevin, Kimberly, Le Bao Vy, Lester H., Lester L., Lulu, Makin, Manabu, Marco, Matthew, Megan, Mike, Nathan, Nisha, Queenie, Raphael, Rayyan, Renee, Rolly, Ruixi, Ruoxi, Ryan F., Ryan W., Sandra, Sesame, Shane, Shawn, Shiyue, Sofie, Stanley, Terry, Van, Verner, Xiaorong and Yu Lu!
  - Thank you to the 28th Richmond Scout Group for joining us and thank you Eli for coordinating!
  - Thank you Sesame for leading the movement of tarps full of blackberry and maximizing space in our bin!
  - Thank you to everyone who helped pack up – from loading tools into the van, bringing back and folding tarps, searching for tools, taking down the tent and more, you were all a HUGE help!

Together our team:
- Removed a volume of 6 cubic metres (37 bathtubs full) of invasive Himalayan blackberry, including SO many stubborn roots which require more effort to remove, but take up less volume
- Removed invasive blackberry from an area of 62 metres squared
Scroll down to see before and after photos, as well as some in-action shots!

All ages, backgrounds, and experience levels were engaged including high school students, families, returning Green Team volunteers, and first-timers!
- 32 people visited Terra Nova Rural Park for the first time
- 45 people removed invasive plants for the first time
- Our Green Team brought together people from all over the Lower Mainland including Richmond (57), Vancouver, West Vancouver and Surrey!

This was our 3rd time removing invasive blackberry from this location of Terra Nova Rural Park. Everyone’s hard work built on that of our Earth Week activities with the City of Richmond earlier this year on April 15 and April 22, 2023!

This activity was featured in the Richmond News TWICE! Click the following dates to read the articles: September 12, 2023 and September 19, 2023

Funding received from the City of Richmond’s Environmental Enhancement Grant made this activity possible. Thank you City of Richmond for your direction and support!

Before & After Photos

Photo of the all the blackberry we removed, including too many stubborn roots to count!

Why Do 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!

Partner For This Activity

This activity was made possible thanks to funding received from the City of Richmond’s Environmental Enhancement Grant and direction from City staff – thank you Magnus and Janny!

Thank you City of Richmond for investing in the community and environment through our work. Together we are restoring habitat and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship!

We look forward to continuing our work with the City at Terra Nova Rural Park soon.

What Volunteers Said

“It felt very satisfying to see how much work we managed to do! Teamwork win! I feel the impact of this program is teaching about responsibility in regards to managing our surrounding areas. It’s so easy to see a green space and gloss over the fact that just because there are plants growing there it doesn’t mean they are good for wildlife and the surrounding flora. Thank you so much for organising this activity!”
– Sandra

“I joined this event first because I wanted to have fun. Also it’s a chance for me to practice my forestry knowledge and gain some experience of working in field.”
– Shiyue

“We are 28th Scouts Richmond Group. It was a fantastic event and everyone is working collaboratively and efficiently. Ashton is very friendly and professional in giving instructions and advice. Very great experience and would definitely join later events. Seasonal cleanup would be very great help. When people see that how great the parks will be after the cleanup, more people may join our event to make our earth better. Great work, Ashton. Keep it up!”
– Renee

“It was fun and nice to be around nature again. I feel the impact is to help our environment grow and survive and take care of nature”
– Karson

“I enjoyed being able to help the community while being under good weather with my friends. I feel like it’s a mutual benefit both for the city and the volunteers. The impact it holds on the city is that by terminating some invasive species, it’ll make our environment better, and for volunteers it gives us an opportunity to those who want to better the community, and gives the volunteers a sense of satisfaction.”
– Shane

“I loved to talk with other people and sweating hard. I realized my life isn’t that hard comparing to this. I feel the impact is that that 62 people can help out the thousands people who comes to visit the farm”
– Jaehyun

CLICK HERE to SIGN UP for more activities across the Lower Mainland!