Invasive Ivy & Blackberry Removal at Reay Creek, Sidney

September 19, 2026

This activity was organized in partnership with the Town of Sidney

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

Adam, Alden, Andrew, Atticus, Charles, Christopher, Fred, Isaac, Joven, Kay, Lily-ann, Maria, Maya, Natsuki, Noel, Paul, Ray, Rena, Romeo, Scott, Susanna, Tim, Tristan and Yuchen!

Community Impacts

24 community members were engaged, contributing 72.5 hrs to environmental action!

67% visited Reay Creek for the first time
8% removed invasive plants for the first time

19 participants completed a survey, and results showed:

84% felt inspired to take future environmental action
95% felt a sense of belonging & connection to others
95% felt their well-being improved
- 84% said time spent in nature contributed
- 79% said helping the environment contributed
- 68% said meeting other people contributed
- 63% said being physically active contributed
95% increased their understanding of environmental issues
89% gained practical knowledge (e.g. impacts of invasive species, how environmental activities like this are planned and run, how this work supports community well-being)
84% developed new skills (e.g. hands-on environmental skills, communication, teamwork & taking initiative)

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

7 cubic metres of invasive English ivy & Himalayan Blackberry were removed (equivalent to the volume of 44 bathtubs!)
74 square metres of habitat were revitalized

Highlights

Community members joined us from across Greater Victoria including from including Sidney, North Saanich, Central Saanich, Saanich, Victoria, Langford, and Colwood
- 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.
Isaac found the thickest ivy vine growing up a tree and made sure to remove it so it doesn’t grow back. It was a tough one to get out of the ground!
Paul went on a mission to free as many large trees from ivy as he could!
A few members of the Victoria Knights Hinirang Eagles Club joined us and helped remove a massive amount of ivy!
Councillor Scott Garnett joined us for this activity and freed trees being overtaken by invasive blackberry, in addition to sharing words of appreciation with everyone for joining!
We found beautiful pink flowers called Cyclamen cilicium growing in the area! While this plant is not native, it is not currently considered to be invasive or a species of concern
This activity built on restoration work being done in the area by various groups, including the Town of Sidney, to restore this salmon bearing creek and surrounding natural area!
Many delicious snacks and refreshments were enjoyed during our well-earned break, including fresh pineapple, sugar cookies, brownies, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, dried shiitake mushrooms, banana marshmallows, fruit snacks, various types of granola bars, Bubly, juice and more!
Special thank you to:
- Joven for coordinating the participation of a group from the Victoria Knights Hinirang Eagles Club!
- Charles who arrived early and helped with set up
- Chevy & Charles for setting up and taking down our snack table!
- EVERYONE for showing up to have an impact and pack up tools!
People of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and experience levels came out including students, working professionals, retirees, first timers, families, and returning GVGTers!
This was our first time working at Reay Creek on the Sidney side! Read about and see photos from when we worked at Reay Creek Park in North Saanich in the past:
- Sept 11, 2022
- Jun 11, 2022

What Community Members Said

15 participants shared what this activity meant to them:

"Cooperating with others and meeting new people has special meaning to me as an international student. This community is made with warm and kind people, and removing invasive plants with them are not stressful, I felt more fun and positive feeling during doing this activity"

"Connecting with others, learning about how these events are organized, and making a tangible impact on the local environment - there's no better way of spending a weekend morning. The hosts are welcoming as always and really help volunteers feel comfortable."

"Always a very satisfying experience, seeing how a group of people with various backgrounds can come together for a shared objective, and working really hard together."

"It was an important experience to connect with the community and helping the environment."

"It reinforced for me just how serious our problem is with invasives. And made me feel grateful to Green Teams and the other volunteers that there are people who care enough about the problem that they give up some of their time and energy to help - even on a Saturday morning!"

"This makes me more excited to collaborate with others and let me know about how do we need to live with nature like what is responsible for us and what can we do for the nature."

"I learned how to remove invasive plants and how do these plants look like. I also learned the differences between local plants and invasive plant. This experience is very meaningful for me"

"If we save the environment, it's also mean we save ourselves"

"It is great to make a difference in this amazing community."

"I love that everyone is communicating with me and tells me what is the plants that from other where and save our environment"

"It helped me get stress out now I'll have less pimples"

"It's been a great opportunity to help and it felt great to persevere"

"I had a lot of fun and the forest means a lot to me cuz I grew up in a goldmine and this is meaningful for me also getting rage out. Lol"

"Good fun. Love the enthusiasm."

Video of Adam speaking about seeing the immediate impact we can have on nature and our community!

Video of Chris speaking about having a great experience bringing out youth from the Baha’i community to do something for the community and this park!

Community Investment Partner

Delivered in partnership with the Town of Sidney, our Community Investment Partner.

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

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

Special thanks to Town staff Kristi & Clayton for their valued contributions in bringing this activity to life!

In-Kind Support

Thank you LUSH for providing their bath bombs & soaps prioritizing fresh ingredients, minimal packaging & no animal testing as in-kind support for this activity!

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 Ashton Kerr, our Director of Partnerships & Programs.

We Are All In This TOGETHER! The Future Depends on Us

The Greater Victoria Green Team is a program of the charity Green Teams of Canada, engaging communities in hands-on environmental action since 2014.

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!