Thank you so much Lower Mainland Green Teamers for your hard work and enthusiasm:
Adeline, Adrian, Agnes, Albert, Alexander, Alexis, Amber, Amos, Anton, Ben, Charles, Dorothy, Esther, Francis, Gary, Geoff, Gillian, Heidi, Hong, Jan, Jason, Jennifer, Jie, Jason, Katalina, Katie, Kevin, Lena, Lily, Lynn, Mary, Rachael, Ray, Roger, Sarah, Viresh and Wendy!
Ocean views, the sound of beach waves, amazing people and no rain? We couldn’t have asked for a better day to connect with one another and build on our past restoration work at West Beach by removing invasive Himalayan blackberry!
Keep reading our impacts, highlights and more from the day…
Impacts
- 37 community members engaged
- 11 people visited West Beach for the first time
- 11 people removed invasive plants for the first time
- 115 hours contributed to habitat restoration
- 8.5 cubic metres of invasive plants were removed (equivalent to the volume of 53 bathtubs!)
- 128 square metres of habitat revitalized
Highlights
- This activity marks 3 years since we first started restoration work at West Beach in May 2021!
- This site has come a long way and has noticeably less blackberry growing and smaller roots than when we first started. Our efforts are working!
- Local resident Jan, who has been living in the area for decades, stopped by to thank and tell us how much improvement she has seen in the area because of our team. She observed and cheered people on as root after root got pulled out of the ground!
- Many passersby thanked us for our work, and others learned new things about invasive plants and the work of our team
- This activity made it into the Peace Arch News! Read the article published on May 6, 2024 HERE.
- Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland, including from White Rock, Surrey, Langley, Delta, Burnaby, Richmond and Vancouver
- People of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and experience levels came out including families, students working professionals, retirees, first timers, returning LMGTers and newcomers
- Many delicious snacks were enjoyed during our break, including homemade vegan brownies!
- Special thank you to:
- Roger for coming early and helping with our setup
- Adrian for helping set up our snacks
- Jan and Gary for leading the packing of our van – they did a better job than Ashton!
- Jen for offering to carpool and driving multiple people from Burnaby
- Alexis for helping set out pylons for our green waste pile
- Every single person who joined us for their teamwork and enthusiasm throughout the day!
Community Investment Partner
THANK YOU to the City of White Rock for providing financial support and direction to make this activity possible!
Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.
This was the 3rd of 7 activities we are organizing with the City of White Rock this year! With waitlists becoming increasingly common for our White Rock activities, we know our community can’t wait for another big year together.
Sign up to join our next White Rock activity at Ruth Johnson Park on Saturday May 25, 2024 from 9:45am-1pm!
In-Kind Support
Thank you to the fantastic local eco-friendly businesses, Green Beaver, LUSH, and Honey Candles, that donated products for our hard-working community members to take home!
Please contact LMGT Program Manager, Ashton Kerr, if you are interested in providing in-kind or have suggestions for businesses to contact.
Why 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!
Staff Who Made This Activity Possible
![](https://greenteamscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Ashton-Andrea-1067x800-1-1024x768.jpeg)
Lower Mainland Green Team Program Manager, Ashton Kerr, and Program Coordinator, Andrea Robles, work hard behind the scenes to bring these high-quality activities to you.
Partnership building, fundraising, outreach, social media, activity logistics, leading on-the-ground, reporting on impacts and more – they can do it all!