Invasive Blackberry Removal at the Derek Doubleday Arboretum, Langley

May 30, 2026

This activity was organized in partnership with the Township of Langley

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

Aj, Amelia, Balian, Connor, Darcie, Cal, Grace, Julia, Kaly, Leslie, Mckenzie, Megan, Noah, Reece, Serena, Tarrah, Trevor, Wei Dong, & William!

Community Impacts

20 community members were engaged, contributing 63.75 hrs to environmental action!

35% visited the Derek Doubleday Arboretum for the first time
40% removed invasive plants for the first time

16 participants completed a survey, and results showed:

94% felt inspired to take future environmental action
100% felt a sense of belonging & connection to others
94% felt their well-being improved
- 88% said time spent in nature contributed
- 75% said meeting people contributed
- 75% said helping the environment contributed
- 81% said being physically active contributed
94% increased their understanding of environmental issues
94% learned new things (e.g. impacts of invasive species)
100% 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

10.5 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry & Himalayan balsam (Policeman’s Helmet) were removed (equivalent to the volume of 65 bathtubs!)
280 square metres of habitat were revitalized

Highlights

Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland including from Langley itself, Surrey, Coquitlam, and Pitt Meadows!
- 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.
We cleared all of the blackberry from a mixed patch in the center of the park, ensuring that the tall grasses left as habitat for the Savannah Sparrow would not be encroached upon by these invasive plants!
A local senior who visits the Arboretum often from their retirement home was excited to see our progress here and thanked us for our hard work!
We found some snails and slugs at the activity that we set aside for their safety including these two, one of which is a brown-lipped snail!
Many delicious snacks were enjoyed during our snack break, including fresh blueberries & carrots, raspberry cream cheese pastry bites, yogurty passionfruit gummies, a spicy fava bean mix, jalapeno crackers, & more!
After attending a few activities on her own, Grace brought her father Wei Dong as another person passionate about plants and as a great opportunity to spend some time outside together!
Special thank you to:
- Amelia, Trevor, Connor, Balian, William, & Noah for helping to pack up at the end of the activity!

People of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and experience levels came out including families, students, working professionals, retirees, first timers, returning LMGTers and newcomers!
We started working at the Derek Doubleday Arboretum in 2025! Check out past activities below:

What Community Members Said

7 participants shared what this activity meant to them:

"It helps my mental health, having fun with others while making a huge difference and seeing the result. I'd definitely join again when I can. Everyone is so nice."

"Participating in these activities have become an important part of our month. It's amazing to see strangers become a cohesive team in just a couple hours!"

"I really enjoyed this because I learned a lot about how invasive blackberries are, I always saw it around and didn't know it was so active, I also didn't know blackberries weren't native to here."

"I enjoy doing this, meeting new people and making a notable difference "

"Enjoyed it very much, I love green thumb activities."

"Thank you so much, I had tons of fun today!"

"This looked impossible before we started, but we did it!"

Community Investment Partner

Delivered in partnership with the Township of Langley, our Community Investment Partner.

Green Teams of Canada and the Township of Langley are working together to achieve our shared environmental and community objectives.

The Township 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 Township to build connection, improve well-being, and create lasting environmental and community impact.

Special thanks to Township staff Tovery for her valued contributions in bringing this activity to life.

This was the 2nd of 8 activities we’re organizing together this year.

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!