Invasive Ivy & Blackberry Removal at Charles Rummel Park, Burnaby

September 14, 2024

Thank you to everyone who participated in our invasive ivy and blackberry removal at Charles Rummel Park in Burnaby:

Aaron, Alanna, Alex, Andrew, Anli, Anudeep, Anwar, Ashley, Athena, Clarissa, Connie, Echo, Etsuko, Francis, Gary, Harveen, Hong, Jan, Jeanine, Jesslyn, Jinxi, Joshua, Kaiwen, Kevin, Krystal, Kurtis, Matt, Matthew, May, Michael, Natalya, Neil, Nobushige, Sharon, Yichen and Yinuo!

A rainy forecast didn’t stop us from having a fun and impactful day… one that turned out to be not-so-rainy after all!

Impacts

36 community members were engaged
- 24 participants visited Charles Rummel Park for the first time
- 17 participants removed invasive plants for the first time
Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland, including from Burnaby (22), Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Vancouver, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Surrey, Langley and Abbotsford!
- Our activities are designed to foster a sense of community that extends beyond municipal borders. By engaging community members from across the region, we are reminded that we are part of a larger, interconnected community and have a shared responsibility of creating a cleaner, healthier environment regardless of where we call home
115 hours were contributed towards restoring local habitat
7.5 cubic metres (47 bathtubs) of invasive English ivy and Himalayan blackberry was removed
234 square metres of habitat was revitalized
7 lbs of litter was removed from the forest including a sleeping bag, lighter, beverage cans, poop bags and more

Highlights

This was the first of two World Rivers Day activities we are organizing with the City of Burnaby
- Join us again next Sunday Sept 22 at Ron McLean Park!
We uncovered baby native trees underneath all of those invasive plants!
- It was rewarding to see the direct impact of our work on other native species
This was our first time working at Charles Rummel Park and with the Eagle Creek Streamkeepers
- And we are very eager to return and continue our work together!
- Thank you Matt for your leadership and sharing your knowledge with us all throughout this activity
All ages, backgrounds, abilities & experience levels came out including families, students, working professionals, retirees, first timers, & returning LMGTers
We refuelled with yummy snacks during our break including double chocolate and blueberry muffins, dried shiitake mushrooms, chocolate covered dried mango, trail mix, cucumbers, cauliflower and dip, mandarin oranges and more!
This activity took place in a regulated invasive Japanese beetle area, so we took extra care to shake out soil from the plants we removed, brush off ourselves and shoes, and clean our tools before leaving the park
- Jan, Gary Aaron, Andrew and Anwar cleaned all of our shovels, loppers, hand pruners and tarps, with the help of a hose from Streamkeeper Matt’s house!
Many hands made for light work with many people chipping in to help pack-up after this activity
- Thank you everyone for your help!
- Special thank you to Jan and Anwar who took initiative and helped direct others during our pack up!

What Community Members Said

"I had a wonderful time joining the event at Charles Rummel Park today. Despite the rain, the experience was fantastic, and it felt great to contribute to removing invasive species. A big thank you to the Green Team for the excellent organization and for making it such a memorable day!"

"Very well organized. I always felt welcome and that I knew how I could be effective. The impacts of this program are: 1. Removing invasive species to improve the park. 2. Engaging the community. 3. Connecting with other volunteer groups."

"I loved feeling like I was part of a community and working together with others towards a common goal! This program helps bring people together to strengthen our sense of community, all while doing our part to take care of the ecosystems that take care of us."

"The LMGT is well organized from beginning to end. The tools are clean and always set up once the volunteers arrives. I love the instructions about plants, safety, and environment. Sometimes the guests help give context to the area we work on and I really enjoy learning about the neighbourhoods others live in and care about. I also like that you can engage with others or work alone if you don't feel like engaging. The pace of the event is just right. The break and snacks are so welcoming after working hard removing tough to remove plants. But the most rewarding part is seeing that native species have a chance to survive and parks and neighbourhoods are a bit cleaner and free of litter. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to hear that salmon is returning to these streams again. Hopefully crayfish as well. I have seen it once in my local stream, Spring Creek, but have not seen it since. I volunteer for the crayfish!"

Hong & Francis Matthew & Joshua

Community Investment Partner

THANK YOU to the City of Burnaby’s Planning Department (namely Mark & Hafsa!) for providing the financial support and direction to make this activity, part of the City’s World Rivers Day Celebrations, possible!

Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.

JOIN US on World Rivers Day next Sunday Sept 22 from 9:45am-1pm at Ron McLean Park where we will be removing invasive ivy and blackberry to rescue baby maple trees alongside the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers!

Collaborator

THANK YOU to Matt Stewart and Janice Froese from the Eagle Creek Streamkeepers for sharing their time, passion and expertise to work alongside us for this activity!

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

Please email Matt at mcstewar@gmail.com to learn more and get involved.

In-kind Support

Thank you to our in-kind supporters: Blume, Gathering Place & Myni for providing their wonderful products to our hard-working community members to take home. These businesses have great, sustainable products that support more responsible consumer choices!

Please contact Ashton if you are interested in providing in-kind or have ideas for in-kind requests.

Why We Do This Work

The Lower Mainland Green Team organizes hands-on educational environmental activities 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 Happen!

Ashton, the Lower Mainland Green Team (LMGT)’s Partnerships Manager led this activity with support from Lyda, the founder of the LMGT and Green Teams of Canada, and our Executive Director.