Facebook Twitter Youtube
Donate

Invasive Ivy & Daphne Removal at Uplands Park, Oak Bay

This activity was organized in partnership with the District of Oak Bay

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

Anthony, Arleen, Bhagyashri, Charles, Charlotte, Cody, Dominic, Emiko, Ethan, Eva, Francine, Frankie, Isaac, Julia, Mieka, Polo, Rafael, Rebecca, Rosanna, Sasha, Shawn, Terry, Trev, Trevor and Vincent

CLICK HERE to see ALL PHOTOS

Community Impacts

55424199025_dede94b633_o
55423912193_8a0f7118f8_o
55423809661_48f86f2fcc_o

24 community members were engaged, contributing 76.5 hrs to environmental action!

  • 38% visited Uplands Park for the first time 
  • 25% removed invasive plants for the first time


23 participants completed a survey, and results showed:

  • 100% felt inspired to take future environmental action
  • 91% felt a sense of belonging & connection to others
  • 96% felt their well-being improved
    • 100% said time spent in nature contributed
    • 100% said helping the environment contributed
    • 83% said being physically active contributed
    • 70% said meeting other people contributed
  • 87% increased their understanding of environmental issues
  • 96% gained practical knowledge (e.g. impacts of invasive species, how this work supports community well-being, about Uplands Park)
  • 87% developed new skills (e.g. teamwork & hands-on stewardship action)
     

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
55423788711_2719acf8f8_o
55423803001_e07dc7723d_o
55422828992_0c78d0de8a_o

Environmental Impacts

  • 8.5 cubic metres of invasive English ivy and Daphne (Spurge-laurel) were removed (equivalent to the volume of 53 bathtubs!)
  • 196 square metres of habitat were revitalized
Before
Before
After
After
Before
Before
After
After
Before
Before
After
After
Before
Before
After
After
Before
Before
After
After

Highlights

  • Community members joined us from across Greater Victoria including from including Oak Bay, Saanich, Esquimalt, Victoria, Langford and Saanichton
    • 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.
  • Two passersby who were walking their dog, Jasper, stopped to ask what we were up to. After learning about the activity, they decided to join in and spend part of their day helping steward Uplands Park! We love when curiosity turns into spontaneous community involvement!
  • At least 10 participants expressed interest in joining Friends of Uplands Park for their regular Sunday ivy removal activities. It was wonderful to see this Green Team activity connecting people with another opportunity to continue caring for local green spaces and getting involved in their community!
  • We also had a great conversation with Charlotte from Friends of Uplands Park about ways we can work together on future activities. We’re excited about opportunities to continue strengthening this partnership and connecting even more community members with stewardship opportunities at Uplands Park!
  • 8 participants who joined us for an invasive species removal activity in the Blenkinsop Valley the day before came back to participate again at Uplands Park! It was fantastic to see so many familiar faces spending two days of their weekend taking environmental action, connecting with others and caring for local green spaces.
  • Together, community members removed invasive English ivy and Daphne, helping reduce competition for native plants and giving native trees, shrubs and other plants more space to thrive.
  • Many delicious snacks and refreshments were enjoyed during our well-earned break, including lemon drop cakes, brownies, mandarins, bananas, carrots, fruit snacks, fruit gummies, yogurt granola bars, chips, juice and ginger ale!
  • Special thank you to:
    • Ethan and Shawn for their fantastic help before and after the activity, including unloading and setting everything up, and helping with take-down and loading everything back into the vehicle at the end of the day
    • Mieka, Emiko and Rosanna for helping put the refreshments out
  • People of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and experience levels came out including families, students, working professionals, retirees, first timers, returning GVGTers and newcomers!
  • We’ve been working at Uplands Park since 2014! Read about and see photos from our last activity at this park:

What Community Members Said

23 participants shared what this activity meant to them:

"This is my first time doing this community event and I'm very glad I did this! This event gave me new knowledge about invasive plants and a better understanding of how we can make a tangible difference in making the environment healthier not just for local flora and fauna but also for people! I hope this event reaches a lot more people and I will certainly be doing this again!"
MarielGVGT Community Member
"Volunteering with the Green Team is always incredibly meaningful to me because it's an amazing way to feel physically connected to the environment and my community!"
MeikaGVGT Community Member
"This experience made me feel more connected to my community and the environment where I live."
JuliaGVGT Community Member
"I believe this experience is such a good way to connect with the community and make a difference regarding the environment, no matter how small. It makes me appreciate how powerful a group of people are."
ArleenGVGT Community Member
"I never used to care about environment before, but after looking the news about climate change I thought about doing something helpful to help the environment and the eco system. Thus, through this experience I learned how to take care of my surroundings environment and can contribute a little to save the earth."
BhagyashriGVGT Community Member
"Being out in nature helps with mental well being, all while being helpful to the local ecosystem and community."
PoloGVGT Community Member
"This opportunity made me feel connected to my community. I had a great time talking to people from Oak Bay, Gordon Head and Saanich and learning about their stories and personalities. Attending these events has helped develop interpersonal skills and public speaking ability. I look forward to attending future events as well!"
IsaacGVGT Community Member
"This experience meant a lot to me. It taught me that other people are taking positive action to initiate helpful environment protocols. This experience helped reassure me that authorities on our province are taking action to ensure the survival of our ecosystems. This experience meant that I could socialize with a friend and make new friends, and that it's okay to get dirty and uncomfortable for the greater good. Also a lot of people there had things in common."
SashaGVGT Community Member
"Enjoyed the wholesome community aspect of the event, everyone was very welcoming!"
AnthonyGVGT Community Member
"Inspiring, gave me hope that community can work together and make a difference."
ShawnGVGT Community Member
"Great to meet new friends and to reconnect with people from previous events. Always a strong sense of community and shared purpose."
CharlesGVGT Community Member
"It's so great to get out into local green spaces and make a difference"
RosannaGVGT Community Member
"I love getting to come out here and see a big group of people as ready to help the earth as I am, it's very uplifting"
EmikoGVGT Community Member
"Wonderful opportunity to contribute to the environment while spending time with my son."
FrancineGVGT Community Member
"It is gratifying to work towards restoring one of the most biologically rich sites in the region."
TerryGVGT Community Member
"Being involved over the last few months in a handful of different green team projects, with a variety of environments makes me appreciate more the local wildlife we are lucky to be able to enjoy."
VincentGVGT Community Member
"It meant a lot as I managed to persevere through the weather and work with people who have the same goals as me"
RafaelGVGT Community Member
"It's an extension of my commitment to FOUP"
RebeccaGVGT Community Member
"It was nice to get out in nature today with my mom"
DominicGVGT Community Member
"It was my last event with GVGT and I feel so happy that so many people came out today despite the rain!"
EthanGVGT Community Member
"Fortune favours the bold, helping the environment more."
TrevGVGT Community Member

Video of Sasha speaking about the positive effect on the ecosystem of these pulls!

Video of Francine and Dom, speaking about how wonderful it is to get outside and help the environment, and spend time together!

Video of Bhagyashri and Polo, speaking about how we can all do things to help the environment, having fun in the rain and being covered in dirt!

Community Investment Partner

Delivered in partnership with the District of Oak Bay, our Community Investment Partner.

Green Teams of Canada and Oak Bay are working together to achieve our shared environmental and community objectives.

Oak Bay 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 District to build connection, improve well-being, and create lasting environmental and community impact.

Special thanks to Oak Bay staff Chris and Wylie for their valued contributions in bringing this activity to life.

Collaborator

Thank you to the Friends of Uplands Park Society and Margaret and Charlotte, for collaborating with us, their ongoing stewardship of this special place and for helping connect community members with opportunities to continue getting involved!

The Friends of Uplands Park Society has been leading stewardship initiatives in the park for over 30 years! They lead regular invasive plant removal activities with their No Ivy League.

To learn more and get  involved, check out their website, Facebook and Instagram pages. 

In-Kind Support

Thank you to the following businesses for providing in-kind to support this activity:

  • LUSH for providing their bath bombs prioritizing fresh ingredients, minimal packaging & no animal testing!
  • Gathering Place for providing their fair-trade, organic spices. They are a family business based in Campbell River, BC directly sourcing the best organic spices & more!

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.

Lush Logo
Gathering Place Logo

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 Lyda Salatian, our Executive Director & Founder.

CLICK HERE to SIGN UP for upcoming activities!

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!

Share this Post!

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn