Invasive Blackberry Removal at West Beach, White Rock

May 2, 2026

Thank you so much Lower Mainland Green Teamers for your hard work and enthusiasm!

Adam, Alan, Allen, Ashley, Balian, Barbara, Benny, Brownie, Chirs, Connor, Dean, Donna, Ken, Elaine, Enid, Eric, Fran, Himmat, Jeffrey, Julia, Juliet, Kendra, Laiba, Lucas, Mehar, Olivia, Robin, Sabrina, Satnam, Hannah, Trevor, William, & Zachary!

Community Impact

35 community members were engaged, contributing 109 hrs to revitalize local habitat!

57% visited West Beach for the first time
40% removed invasive plants for the first time

28 participants completed a survey, and results showed:

82% felt inspired to take future environmental action
93% felt a sense of belonging & connection to others
100% felt their well-being improved
- 96% said time spent in nature contributed
- 89% said helping the environment contributed
93% increased their understanding of environmental issues
93% gained practical knowledge (e.g. impacts of invasive species)
89% developed new skills (e.g. teamwork & hands-on stewardship action)

🌍 Why this matters

Lasting environmental impact depends on people, on how connected, capable, and motivated they feel to take action.

Outcomes from these activities contribute to:

- Community resilience & social connection
- Well-being through time in nature
- Increased participation in climate & environmental action

- Practical skills for environmental stewardship
- Greater connection to local places & natural areas
- Stronger culture of volunteerism & civic engagement

Environmental Impacts

7 cubic metres of invasive plants were removed (equivalent to the volume of 44 bathtubs!)
115 square metres of habitat revitalized!

Highlights

Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland including from White Rock itself, Vancouver, Richmond, New Westminster, Surrey, Coquitlam, Langley, & Maple Ridge!
- Our activities bring people together across municipal boundaries, fostering a shared sense of community and responsibility for a cleaner, healthier environment
This activity was featured in the Peace Arch News!
- Read their post-activity article here!
MP Ernie Klassen, the local MP for South Surrey – White Rock joined us to appreciate the value of the community coming together for a great initiative and thanked everyone for their hard work! Check out his post about our activity here!
We saw 14 species of birds including Black Oystercatchers, a Western Grebe, a Surf Scoter, a Killdeer, and Bald Eagles as well as a rabbit and a seal!
We also learned about some invasive Bindweed (Morning Glory) that we removed amongst the blackberry too!
Thank you to Terri who brought out homemade cookies to support and thank our hardworking participants!
Many other delicious snacks were enjoyed during our snack break, including cinnamon bites, fresh pineapple, a veggie tray, passionfruit yogurt gummies, spicy twist crackers, & more!
BCIT Broadcast & Online Journalism student Adam came out to capture our activity and the impact on the community- stay tuned for his article!
Special thank you to:
- Connor, Chris, Dean, Balian, William, Kendra, Barb & Elaine who all stayed extra to help load up the van at the end of the activity!
- Ashley who came early to help with setup & helped organize our snacks!
People of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and experience levels came out including families, students working professionals, retirees, first timers, returning LMGTers and newcomers!
This activity marks 5 years since we first started restoration work at West Beach in May 2021! We’ve made some great progress here and it’s been so special to be a part of the on-going stewardship of West Beach! Check out some of our more recent activities here below!
Community members passing by were happy to learn about invasive plants and our work and thanked us for our efforts to steward West Beach!

What Community Members Said

"The LMGT group is always lovely to volunteer with. Max had us all organized, working efficiently and taking breaks appropriately which is super helpful. I feel valued and like I'm making a difference for my community working on this project. It's also great to see the changes being made, and be a part of something bigger than myself. I look forward to more volunteering with Lower Mainland Green Team in future!"

"This was my first volunteering experience out in nature! It was great to have an opportunity like this where I could learn new useful skills by the beautiful beach view. I look forward to the next meetup!"

"I got to form new bonds with people I otherwise would not have interacted with, we got to share our stories and learn from each other."

"It's an important experience in meeting local people and making a change in the environment in a meaningful way."

"I liked this opportunity to help the nature it meant a lot to know I was apart of a strong environmental group."

"I'm glad to help care for the local environment today."

"It was great! Would love to see more cities endorse this work! (i.e. Surrey!)"

"Great to work alongside with so many young people!"

"It means an important experience for building skills and helping nature."

"This is a good cause. If we don't take care of the environment who will. Let's stand up and continue protecting our environment."

"It was fun to be outside and hang out with my friends. I got to meet a lot of new people as well."

"It was very fun to hangout with my friends and help the community."

"It meant I could get outside and help the environment."

"It helps me get out of my apartment and be around people."

"It's a great way to take action."

"It was a great morning at the beach, doing something good for the community."

"It was a great opportunity to spend a day in the sun with other like-minded people doing something positive."

Video of Julia, speaking about why she keeps coming back to activities!

Video of MP Ernie Klassen, and part of his words thanking the community members for their work!

Video of Fran, speaking about the great time she had giving back to the community by helping our environment and excited to be back with us again soon!

Video of Himmat & Zac, talking about having a great time with friends while learning about and tackling invasive species!

Community Investment Partner

THANK YOU to the City of White Rock for being a Community Investment Partner and providing the financial support and direction to make our work in White Rock possible! Special thanks to Andre, Spencer, & Ralph for their roles supporting this activity.

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!

This was the 4th of 8 activities we are organizing with the City of White Rock this year! We can’t wait to keep making an impact here together!

Join our next White Rock activity at Ruth Johnson Park on from 9:45am to 1pm on Sat. June 13th from 9:45am-1pm removing the easiest invasive plant to tackle, Small Balsam!

In-Kind Support

A big thank you to our in-kind supporters!

Lush provided their fantastic bath bombs with natural ingredients, sustainable packaging, and made in Canada! Our participants were really happy to take these gifts home!

OLA Bamboo for provided their amazing bamboo cutlery made in Canada for our community members at this activity! Their mission is to reduce plastic waste by creating these great bamboo-based, eco-friendly alternatives!

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, and litter clean-ups, 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!

Staff Who Made This Activity Possible

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!

This activity was run by Max Muehlen, our Lower Mainland Green Team’s Program Manager with support from Ashton Kerr, the Director of Partnerships & Programs.