Invasive Ivy, Blackberry & Holly Removal at Ruth Johnson Park, White Rock – October 22, 2023

Highlights From The Day

• 58 amazing community members of diverse ages, backgrounds and experience levels joined us and contributed 179 hours total!
  • Thank you so much for your hard work and enthusiasm: Abhay, Akari, Alexis, Ali, Amanda, Amitha, Andrea, Angad, Anji, Anwar, Atharva, Beibei, Ben, Calvin F., Calvin Z., Carson, Casmond, Caymanh, Charlotte, Charmaine, Chen, Daniela, Ethan, Ezra, Fazeel, Gary, Gillian, Jan, Janice, Jashandeep, Jean-Baptiste, Jen, Jlien, Judson, Katia, Keegan, Kitty, Kristin, Lisa, Lucas, Loucas, Madison, Marco, Matthew W., Matthew, Mehtab, Michael, Nate, Ryo, Sam, Sarah, Sesame, Shelley, Sivish, Vinay, Walter, Wendy and Zaryab!
    • Thank you to everyone who helped pack up tools and supplies after this activity, many hands make for light work!
      • Jan was the tetris queen and led the placement of items safely in the van, thank you for this!
    • Thank you Anwar, Alexis and Amanda for arriving early and helping with set up!
      • Anwar took transit from Maple Ridge (~2 hour bus ride) to arrive early at 9am to help out – your dedication is incredible!
    • Thank you to members from The Church at Southpoint for joining us and Madison for coordinating everyone!
    • Thank you to students from Seaquam Secondary’s Volunteer and Events Group for joining us!
• Our Green Team brought together people from across the region including from White Rock, Surrey, Langley, Maple Ridge, Delta, Richmond, Burnaby, Vancouver and West Vancouver!
• 31 people visited Ruth Johnson Park for the first time
• 16 people removed invasive plants for the first time

• Together our team:
  • Removed a volume of 17 cubic metres (106 bathtubs full) of invasive English ivy, English holly and Himalayan blackberry, including many stubborn blackberry roots which require more effort to remove, but take up less volume
  • Removed invasive plants from an area of 151 metres squared
• Scroll down to see before and after photos, as well as some in-action shots!

• Our Community Investment Partner, the City of White Rock, provided direction and funding to make this activity possible!

• This was the 2nd activity led by our Program Coordinator, Andrea!

Before & After Photos

Photos of the massive pile of invasive plants we removed!

Photos of what this site has looked like in the past

This was our second time working at this beautiful area of Ruth Johnson Park. Check out what this site looked like before we started working on it on June 25, 2023!

Why Do 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!

Partner For This Activity

A huge THANK YOU to the City of White Rock for making this activity possible with their financial support and direction!

Our charity, Green Teams of Canada, has been working with the City of White Rock for over 10 years! Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.

This was our 7th and final activity of the year with the City of White Rock. We look forward to continuing our work together in 2024 with even more activities!

What Volunteers Said

“Wonderful volunteer interaction, you are the best. My feeling is indescribable and I felt very happy, and all my weekends are yours and I will do my best to be with you always and forever. Thanks the Lower Mainland Green Team. You are very creative, very friendly in dealing with us, and you have the ability to motivate the team. You have characteristics that are not found in many volunteer teams.”

– Anwar

“I enjoyed helping nature to help us breathe better”

– Vinay

“We’ve been cleaning out ivy and blackberry, and it’s been hard work and really good work! I’ve really enjoyed coming here with friends from Southpoint Church and meeting lots of other people too. It’s been a great day, and no rain, Hallelujah!”

– Janice

In-Action Photos

Vinay and his son Atharva rescued this big tree from invasive ivy and blackberry!

Snack time!

Anyone missing part of their Barbie doll?

Beetles and other soil organisms were found while digging in the forest!

In-Kind Supporters

Thank you to the following businesses for donating items to thank our amazing volunteers:

• LUSH for providing Karma Kream Lotion, Orange Shower Scrub and Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner
• Carina Organics for providing natural conditioner and body wash
• Kicking Horse Coffee for providing ground coffee

Our Staff

This was the 2nd activity led by the Lower Mainland Green Team‘s Program Coordinator, Andrea Robles (right)!

Our Program Manager, Ashton Kerr (left) provided support for this activity and Green Teams of Canada‘s founder and Executive Director, Lyda Salatian (middle), also joined and assisted for training purposes.

THANK YOU!