Thank you to everyone who participated in this invasive blackberry removal to restore salmon habitat!
Addyson, Alyse, Amelia, Angela C., Angela R., Ashley, Blake, Brandon, Brooklyn, Cesar, Charlie, Chloe, Christina, Colton, Cypress, David, Devin, Dianne, Emaan, Glen, Jennifer, Jeremy, Jocelyn, Kaden, Kwan Kong, Lilia, Lucas, Natalie, Naya, Nga Man, Nicholas, Nora, Olivia, Paul, Polly, Ray, Ryan R., Ryan H., Rylan, Shane, Suana, Tao, Tristan, & Willa!
We had a great time working at the Trethewey Channel along the banks of the Alouette River and on a small island, helping to make a great contribution to an on-going effort to restore this salmon spawning habitat!
Impacts
- 44 community members were engaged!
- 35 visited the Trethewey Channel for the first time
- 22 removed invasive plants for the first time
- 18 planted for the first time
- 135 hours were contributed towards restoring local habitat
- 10.5 cubic metres (66 bathtubs!) of invasive Himalayan Blackberry was removed.
- 221 native shrubs were planted, including Hardhack, Sitka Willow, Black Cottonwood, Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, Salmonberry, Red Osier Dogwood, Scouring Rush, Skunk Cabbage, Dense Sedge & Slough Sedge!
- 420 square metres of spawning habitat was revitalized!
- Community members joined us from Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Langley, Richmond, Surrey, Burnaby, & Chilliwack!
- Our activities are designed to foster a sense of community that extends beyond municipal borders. By engaging community members from across the region, we are reminded that we are part of a larger, interconnected community and have a shared responsibility of creating a cleaner, healthier environment regardless of where we call home.
Highlights
- This activity made it into the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News!
- This activity built on restoration work by our team, the Alouette River Management Society (ARMS) , and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to revitalize this spawning channel! This was our third activity at the Trethewey Channel, read all about our previous activities below!
- We’re grateful to Ken for enabling us to restore this salmon habitat on his property!
- We had a great time planting at the activity, with many community members planting for the first time and youth successfully planting all by themselves!
- Thank you to Kristen from ARMS for representing the organization, helping facilitate the day, and sharing her knowledge!
- After a lot of hard work, we cut through a massive blackberry bush as a big achievement today!
- We pulled out some massive blackberry root crowns from this bush to help prevent regrowth like these two from Naya and this one by Lucas!
- Glen grew up across the river from our work site, connected with the Alouette River growing up, and was excited to help steward it at this activity!
- Amelia discovered some fish bones, possibly left by an eagle!
- We were joined by the 2nd Alouette Girl Guides who learned a lot about this habitat and did some amazing work! Well done, girls!
- We also had some of the 1st Pitt Meadows Scouts do amazing work here, returning from last year’s activity to continue their efforts!
- Nga Man grows native seeds at a local nursery and was excited at the chance to plant them here!
- A big thank you to Colton, Ryan, Angela, Lucas, Jeremy, & Kaden for helping to haul the final tarps and pack up at the end of the activity!
- The Willow, Salmonberry, & Red Osier Dogwood were planted close to the waters edge to increase slope stability, reduce bank erosion, and provide shade for juvenile salmon!
- Hardhack was planted in full sun to compete with the blackberry and Reed Canary Grass and to provide shrubby habitat for birds!
- Trees were planted throughout the site but mainly in the upper & lower Channel to provide stability, prevent erosion, and to add shade to reduce blackberry & reed canary grass growth!
- Slough Sedge, Dense Sedge, Scouring Rush, & Skunk Cabbage were planted at the water line to reduce erosion, increase bank stability, and add habitat for aquatic species to hide in!
What Community Members Said
Video of Ray, talking about getting his hands dirty and giving back to the Alouette River by removing invasive plants & planting native plants!
Video of Sam & Nga Man, talking about having fun with meaningful work to help restore salmon habitat here!
Video of Ryan, talking about the activity as a great opportunity to meet new people and get outdoors on a Saturday!
Video of Tristan, Amelia, Olivia, & David, talking about helping the environment and loving it!
Video of Amelia, Olivia, & Tristan, talking about earning their Scouts North Star Awards and Seeonee Awards by participating in these activities!
Video of Jeremy & Kaden, talking about joining us to learn about invasive plants along the Alouette River and meeting new people!
Video of Natalie, talking about having fun with her friends planting trees!
Community Investment Partner
THANK YOU to the Alouette River Management Society (ARMS) – especially Kristen and Greta – for being a Community Investment Partner and making our work at Trethewey Channel in Maple Ridge possible. Special thanks to Kristen for her leadership and support during this activity on-site!
ARMS received funding to restore this salmon habitat from the Pacific Salmon Foundation.
ARMS is dedicated to proactively protecting and improving the Alouette Watershed and surrounding areas by creating a healthy environment connecting parks, trail systems, public centres, and waterways.
This activity was a great success and together we made a significant impact on the health and well-being of community members and the environment!
In-Kind Support
A big thank you to our in-kind supporter!
Lush is an eco-friendly company that has been working to create more natural, sustainable products. They provided their fantastic shower gels & body conditioner made right here in Canada for our participants to take home as a reward for their hard work!
If you’re interested in contributing in-kind or have ideas for potential partnerships, please contact Ashton Kerr. Your support makes a difference!
Why We Do This Work
The Lower Mainland 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, litter clean-ups and more, 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!
GTC Staff Who Made This Activity Happen!
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!
Max Muehlen, our Lower Mainland Green Team’s Program Manager, and Simryn Dhensaw, our Lower Mainland Green Team Program Assistant, led this activity together!
Ashton Kerr, the Lower Mainland Green Team’s Partnerships Manager, supported this activity behind the scenes!