Invasive Blackberry Removal & Beach Clean-Up at West Beach, White Rock

September 8, 2024

Thank you to everyone who participated in our invasive blackberry removal and beach litter clean-up at West Beach in White Rock:

Agata, Amanda, Amy, Andrea, Athena, Barb, Cathy, Dohyun, Elizabeth, Francis, Gary, Geoff, Gill, Harveen, Hyunjae Alexander, Jan, Jiyoung, John, Kevin, Lenita, Lily, Meggy, Meghan, Michael, Min Jae Benjamin, Olivia, Polina, Roger, Sam, Sebastien, Semi, Stephen, Steven & Wendy

We had an amazing time on a sunny day at this beautiful beach doing a beach clean up and removing invasive blackberry!

Impacts

34 community members were engaged
100 hours were contributed to removing invasive blackberry & picking up litter!
Many participants were residents of the City of White Rock, but we also had people from across the region join us! Our activities are designed to foster a sense of community that transcend municipal borders. By engaging community members from all around the Lower Mainland, White Rock residents realize that they are part of a larger, interconnected community and that we all have a responsibility of creating a cleaner, healthier environment regardless of where we call home.
7 participants visited West Beach for the first time
11 participants removed invasive Himalayan Blackberry for the first time
10 cubic metres of invasive blackberry was removed
12 participants engaged in a clean-up for the 1st time
15 lbs of litter and 2 anchors was removed
Over 841 pieces of litter were tracked and removed including:
- 478 cigarette butts
- 84 food wrappers
- 132 bits of paper & cardboard
- 18 pieces of plastic bags
- 42 cups & lids
- 8 pieces of glass
- 40 bottles & cans
- 4 items of clothing/shoes
- 5 pieces of metal
- 6 pieces of styrofoam
- and more..

Highlights

At West Beach, where the waves did play,
With shovels and gloves we worked away.

Cookies and watermelon made us all grin,
As the beach sparkled bright with the work we put in.

We had a wonderful turnout. In addition to nearly half of the 35 participants being White Rock residents, others joined us from: South Surrey, Surrey, West Vancouver, North Vancouver and Burnaby. Bringing community members together from different places, demonstrates that we are part of a larger community dedicated to keeping our environment clean and achieving greater impact by working together!
This activity was featured in the Peace Arch News!
- Go to page A22 in the Sept 19, 2024 paper HERE to read it!
- Or find it under the Media Coverage section of our website here
Many community members helped pack up at the end of the activity – thank you!!
To see how past activities at West Beach have gone check these blogs out:
- May 4th 2024 invasive blackberry removal & clean up
- Sept 23 2023 invasive blackberry removal & clean-up
We had MANY people enjoying their day at West Beach come up to us and thank us for the work we were doing. Some even helped point out litter for us to pick up!
A passerby, Dalj, helped us put our tent up. Thank you!
City of White Rock parking staff member Ravi, came by to say hello. Thank you Ralph and Ravi from City of White Rock for providing parking passes to our participants!
Delicious sugar cookies, cold watermelon, grapes, tomatoes, granola bars, pumpkin seeds, shiitake mushrooms, seaweed & salmon jerky were enjoyed
We continue to LOVE using our litter tracker app (created by Chris, a LMGT community member!!)

What Community Members Said

"The impact of this activity was to restore our natural ecosystem and to protect our environment one event at a time."

"I thought it was a very well organized event and the impact was a healthy and clean environment"

"I enjoyed the interaction with members of my community. Felt pride in cleaning up the beachfront and felt the impact was helping the environment by removing invasive plants."

"It was great to get outside and help our environment. It was nice seeing so many people come together for the same cause. The program does a great job to keep our beaches and parks clean and help build community."

"I enjoyed working with a great team of people, Helping out in the community & Protecting the environment "

"I got to meet new people and I was able to help my own community with others. The impact was feeling closer to our own community and getting closer to the people who are helping our own home together."

"I enjoyed meeting new good people and working together. I completed a new job that I had never experienced before, and I felt a sense of achievement."

"I enjoyed that we as a community got to make a difference in our local environment for our better future. I feel like the impact of the program is to build a more clean and better environment with our community. I am glad I participated in the activity and I hope to be able to participate again."

"I loved being on the beach / ocean. Picking up litter. Felt good. One piece at a time cleaning up our planet . I feel the impact of the program is showing people around us how important taking care of our planet is!!"

I enjoyed being outside doing something for my community in a beautiful setting. I was also educated. Little actions make a cumulative difference.

"I enjoyed everything! From the organization and preparation (parking passes, tools, snacks). I felt that my efforts in the hot sun were worth it, especially when we saw how much blackberry we removed. I connected with the activity leaders comments - connecting with your community and environment. If everyone did a little bit (once a year even) our city would be a much nicer place to be"

Meghan & Liz Amanda

Community Investment Partner

THANK YOU to the City of White Rock (namely Justin & Spencer!) for being a Community Investment Partner and enabling the creation of opportunities for community members to come together, connect with each other and nature and take care of the environment!

In-kind Support

Thank you to our in-kind supporters: Blume, Gathering Place & Nature Bee for providing their wonderful products to our hard-working community members to take home.

Please contact Ashton if you are interested in providing in-kind.

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!

Lyda, the founder of the Lower Mainland Green Team (LMGT), ran this activity on the day. Ashton, who is now the LMGT Partnerships Manager, did outreach and worked on the logistics of this activity.