Thank you so much Greater Victoria Green Team participants for your hard work and enthusiasm:
Abhi, Anshdeep, Ava, Aaron, Grey, Yvonne, Rosanna, Gary, Muen, Jieun, Alanah, Clark, Chloe, Mieka, Robbi, Tim, Karen, and Michelle!
What a fun day we had connecting people to one another and nature, all while restoring habitat! Keep on reading to find impacts, highlights and more from the day…
Impacts
- 18 community members engaged
- 60 hours contributed to habitat restoration
- 3 people removed invasive plants for the first time
- 9 people visited Colwood Creek Park for the first time
- 5 cubic metres of invasive plants were removed (equivalent to 31 bathtubs!)
- 75 square metres of habitat revitalized
Highlights
- This was our 10th visit to this park! We were at this park many times last year including an Earth Day planting activity in April of this year. It was great to be able to return to this site this year and continue the restoration of this important habitat and tackle the grow-back of invasive plants around the native trees and shrubs we planted.
- We removed invasive morning glory that was growing up the native trees and shrubs we planted and dug up invasive Himalayan blackberry roots around the area.
- It is so rewarding to see native species reclaiming the space after we spent so many activities removing invasive plants and then planting native species!
- The sunny weather kept us quite warm but we were able to cool off with water misters, cold drinks, & refreshments.
- Everyone enjoyed a variety of refreshments, with fresh fruits and veggies, cold drinks, and the homemade brownies were a hit!
- Community members all helped with packing up: thank you for your help carrying gear out of the park and an extra special shout out to Yvonne and Garry for helping pack the car!
- Colwood Creek Park has a lovely walking path and is frequented by many local residents. Community members and passersby enjoyed the additional education provided by our educational plant signs, learning about identification in a fun, creative way!
- People joined this activity from all over, including people who live in the neighbourhood and others who travelled across the region to have fun connecting with each other.
- All ages, backgrounds, and experience levels were engaged including returning Green Team members, and first-timers.
What Community Members are Saying
Community Investment Partner
THANK YOU to the City of Colwood for providing direction and ecological expertise to guide this activity!
Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.
In-Kind Support
Thank you to the fantastic local eco-friendly business Green Beaver, Blume, Gathering Place, Wildside, Nature Bee, and Honey Candles that donated In-kind products for our hard-working community members to take home!
Please contact Viloka Luna. if you are interested in providing in-kind.
Why We Do This Work
The Greater Victoria 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
Greater Victoria Green Team Program Manager, Kaitlin Warren and Partnerships Manager Viloka Luna work hard behind the scenes to bring these high-quality activities to you.
Partnership building, outreach, social media, activity logistics, leading on-the-ground, reporting on impacts and more – they can do it all!