The Greater Victoria Green Team spent the day engaging 24 community members in Reay Creek Park restoring the habitats from invasive species.

We primarily removed Canada Thistle and Himalayan Blackberry. Despite its common name, Canada Thistle was introduced from Europe and Northern Asia. Both Himalayan Blackberry and Thistle outgrow the native species that both naturally occur and that were planted in the park. Canada Thistle is a source of significant crop losses in the agriculture industry in Canada. Some of the native species we saw in the area were Nootka Rose, Snowberry, and Black Hawthorn!

THANK YOU

Thank-you to everyone for participating: Ramisa, Nisa, Jasen, Tyler, Maggie, Jaden, Tasha, Audrey, Troy, Leo, Evan, Thadd, Annie, Aaron, Ben, Warren, Marguerite, Debby, Kevin, Katia, Maria and Amanda!

Thank-you very much to the District of North Saanich for partnering with us and contributing to our Green Team activities and for recognizing the importance of collaboration in community engagement and ecological restoration!

Group Photo!

Highlights

• In total 24 community members participated and contributed to 74 volunteer hours!
• 17 volunteers were introduced to Reay Creek Park, while 7 volunteers had never removed invasive species before!
• We removed 13 cubic metres of invasive plants!
• This was the Green Team’s first time in this location, we were so excited to be here!

Before and After Photos

This activity not only benefitted the environment, but also the participants themselves. By being out in nature doing something positive as a team, our community members:

• Develop a sense of belonging to community and place
• Have improved mental and physical health
• Connect to nature, which leads to environmentally responsible behaviour
• Learn about local environmental issues and actions they can take
• Learn the value of bringing together people to work towards a common goal
• Become leaders in their communities
• Increase confidence, resilience and perseverance

Action Shots

Thank you to Green Beaver, Ed’s Soup Shack, Level Ground Coffee, Saltspring Coffee and Tru-Earth for gifting In-Kind rewards for our hard working volunteers!