Invasive Ivy and Blackberry Removal at Charles Rummel Park, Burnaby

September 26, 2026

This activity was organized in partnership with the City of Burnaby

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

Aaron, Amos, Andrew, Anne, Anoop, Athena, Aureus, Bennett, Chad, Damini, Dartere, Ethan, Fukhung, Genevieve, Gordon, Griffin, John, Malina, Maria, Mary, Matt, Miiira, Mohamed, Olivia, Rachel, Rebecca, Renate, Renee, Salil, Sam, Sophia, Susan, Suzie, and Veli!

Community Impacts

34 community members were engaged, contributing 111 hrs to environmental action!

80% visited Charles Rummel Park for the first time
59% removed invasive plants for the first time

27 participants completed a survey, and results showed:

93% felt inspired to take future environmental action
100% felt a sense of belonging & connection to others
100% felt their well-being improved
- 93% said time spent in nature contributed
- 81% said meeting people contributed
- 89% said helping the environment contributed
- 85% said being physically active contributed
96% increased their understanding of environmental issues
93% learned new things, like how to care for the environment and how this kind of work supports community well-being
93% developed new skills, including hands-on environmental skills and how to work with others

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

12 cubic metres of invasive English ivy and Himalayan blackberry, were removed (equivalent to the volume of 71 bathtubs!)
286 square metres of Eagle Creek were revitalized

Highlights

Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland including from Burnaby itself, Vancouver, Coquitlam, Port Moody, New Westminster, Surrey, Langley, and North Vancouver!
- 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.
Many park goers thanked us for our hard work in the park!
Many delicious snacks were enjoyed during our snack break, including homemade vegan brownies, lemon biscotti, fresh fruits and vegetables, and cheezies!
Special thank you to:
- Aureus and Mohamed for helping with our snack break and helping lead our clean up!
- Mary and Bennett for supporting our activity clean up
- John and Renate for being superstars at removing ivy and hauling full tarps of invasive plants!

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 was a part of our World Rivers Day celebrations, which local resident Mark Angelo began in Burnaby in 1980 as BC Rivers Day. We are inspired by Angelo’s founding efforts, which led to the United Nations designating the fourth Sunday in September as World Rivers Day in 2005, a global day of recognition for the waterways that support all life on Earth.
We’ve been working at Charles Rummel Park since 2024! Check out our first activity below:
- September 14, 2024

What Community Members Said

17 participants shared what this activity meant to them:

"It was a wonderful way to give back to the community in a meaningful and fun way. Glad to learn about native and invasive species in our area."

"Being active in the community who also cares for environment. Each small action to protect our environment is better than no action, especially as a group"

"It was a great experience modeling hard work for my children. They saw young and old people working hard physically to improve the neighborhood. We live close by the park we worked on today, and they got a kick out of putting their destructive urges into a helpful activity!"

"This was really well organized, efficient and fun! It was an enormous task and shows the scale of the problem; we made a small dent which felt good but there's so much that needs to be done! Hopefully events like this expand and happen more frequently around the Lower Mainland"

"It means so much to be able to do this and help in protecting the environment"

"I love to see the results of all the work put in to clear invasives. It also shows me how much more work is needed, it's very motivating."

"I loved getting outside and caring for the environment with a great group of like minded people!"

"I am so pleased that I had the opportunity to tackle the invasive species that I have been seeing on my daily walks. Looking forward to doing more together!"

"This experience to me meant that I could learn more about invasive species."

"Seeing that so many people in the community care about the environment."

"Feeling like more human, and thinking about the next generations"

"It was great fun!"

"It meant a lot to me because I got to cut down big trees!"

"It meant that people really care and can do a lot when there is a team"

"New life"

"Spending time outdoors with with community ☻"

"It was fun"

Video of Mary, speaking about how this activity helps her care for the environment

Video of Gen, speaking about why she cares for her local parks and waterways

Video of Olivia, speaking about how this activity is meaningful and fun!

Community Investment Partner

Delivered in partnership with the City of Burnaby, our Community Investment Partner.

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

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

Special thanks to City staff Hafsa for her valued contributions in bringing this activity to life.

Collaborators

THANK YOU to our collaborator Matt Stewart from the Eagle Creek Streamkeepers for sharing his time, passion and expertise to work alongside us for this activity!

Green Teams of Canada and the Eagle Creek Streamkeepers support each others shared goals of caring for our local natural areas.

Salmon have returned to Eagle Creek thanks to the important work of this amazing local volunteer group. They would love your help to care for this creek and the surrounding area!

Please email Matt at [email protected] to learn more and get involved in activities like salmon fry releases and salmon spawn counts.

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

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 Paige Hunter, our Lower Mainland Green Team Program Manager with support from Lyda Salatian, Green Teams of Canada’s Executive 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!