Invasive Species Removal at Anderson Hill Park, Oak Bay, May 27 2023!
Highlights
- 32 community members of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels joined us and contributed 100 volunteer hours total
- Thank you so much for your hard work and for making this day amazing: Mitch, Cindy, Best, Abigail, Liz, Sara, Millie, Yvonne, Daniel, Daniil, Denise, Kai, Kaden, Evelyn, Susan, Hyoseon, Kiersten, Elizabeth, Jonathan, Clarisse, William, Wayne, Warren, Kaye, Dennis, Nancy, Christopher, Layanna, Corinne, Liz, Marianne, and Jordan!
- 19 cubic metres of invasive species removed!
- Species removed included Gorse and Scotch Broom!
- An area of 118 metres squared had invasive plants removed from it and was revitalized thanks to the hard work of our Green Team
- 22 participants visited Anderson Hill Park for the first time
- 7 participants removed invasive plants for the first time
Thank you to the District of Oak Bay for partnering with us! Their support made this activity possible. We appreciate their commitment to empowering their community to take on environmental stewardship!
Thank you to Christina and the Friends of Anderson Hill Park volunteers for joining us at this activity and providing guidance and support! Thank you as well to Chris Hyde-lay, the District of Oak Bay Parks Manager, for joining us at the activity to show your support to the community!
Before & After Photos
On Saturday, May 27 2023, the Greater Victoria Green Team, Christina of Anderson Hill Park, and the District of Oak Bay hosted an invasive species removal activity at Anderson Hill Park! 32 community members joined us for this fun activity on a beautiful day! The Friends of Anderson Hill Park environmental stewards have been putting a lot of effort into removing Scotch broom and gorse from the park. Gorse is especially challenging to eradicate because it re-sprouts easily from any stem or root material left behind, and it’s very prickly and difficult to remove! Our hard-working volunteers focused their efforts on removing a large patch of gorse from a central location in the park.
We removed some really big gorse roots!
It takes a whole lot of team work to pull these massive roots out of the ground!
By learning about environmental issues such as those caused by invasive species in a hands-on way, communities are better equipped to tackle such problems. Additionally, our community members met new people, gained new skills and were able to experience the benefits of being out in nature including reduced levels of stress and anxiety, and improved moody, memory, focus and mental clarity. Not to mention the great physical exercise everyone got while restoring the area! By connecting people to nature, we help instil responsible environmental behaviour that extends beyond our activities.
Community in Action!
Click the arrows on the photo below to see more of our favourite moments from the day!
Thank you to Kicking Horse Coffee, Sirene Chocolates, Gathering Place, EarthRated, & TruEarth for donating eco-gifts for our hard-working community members to take home!
Our community members took home a thank you gift from one of our in-kind supporters! If you have any suggestions for sustainable/eco-friendly rewards, or know of (or own!) a business who would like to provide in-kind gifts to our Green Team, please contact interim Program Manager Kaitlin Warren at kaitlin@greenteamscanada.ca
This activity was organized by the Greater Victoria Green Team‘s interim Program Manager, Kaitlin Warren and Program Coordinator, Maria Varem.
Maria and Kaitlin were hired through Green Teams of Canada’s Youth Leadership Program. This was Maria’s last activity with GVGT. Thank you so much Maria for your hard work this past year!