The Greater Victoria Green Team spent the day engaging 14 community members at the UVic Queenswood Campus in an area covered with Daphne, English Ivy, and several other invasive species. This was our fourth visit to this particular site, and the impact our community has made in this patch of forest is truly amazing!

We primarily removed Daphne, English Ivy, and Himalayan Blackberry, although we found some additional species like Scotch Broom and Holly. The invasive species have been growing all over the forest in large patches and even up into the trees! English Ivy can grow up to 9 feet in a year, and can grow up to 40 ft vertically on a tree or building. By cutting a section of ivy off the bottom of the tree, all the ivy above that point will die, and the tree will be safe. We also cleared 1m of ivy around the tree to ensure that it will not grow back any time soon. Some of the native species we saw in the area were Oregon Grape, Trailing Blackberry and Snowberry.

THANK YOU

Thank-you to everyone for participating: Houtian, Hong, Shawn, Andrew, Shaelyn, Thadd, Mike, Lee, Chloe, Joanne, Sue, Dick, Andrew, and Tristan!

Thank-you very much to University of Victoria Office of Campus Planning & Sustainability for partnering with us, contributing to our Green Team activities, and for recognizing the importance of collaboration in community engagement and ecological restoration!

Group Photo!

Highlights

• In total 14 community members participated and contributed to 36 volunteer hours!
• 8 volunteers were introduced to Queenswood Campus, while 6 volunteers had never removed invasive species before!
• We removed 6 cubic metres of invasive plants and revitalized 200 square metres of forest floor!
• We also removed about 10 pounds of garbage from the forest!

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

Volunteer Testimonials

“I enjoyed that this is a friendly, welcoming group working together towards a goal. We are helping to restore habitat, helping people to feel involved and like they can make a difference in their community, and helping to build community.” – Sue

“I felt welcome and appreciated. I made my contribution. This program raises the awareness of environmental protection. To some extent, it helps to protect the native species.” – Lee

Action Shots

Thank You to Ed’s Soup Shack, Level Ground Coffee, Green Beaver, TruEarth, Saltspring Coffee, and Earth Rated for providing In-Kind Gifts for our Hardworking Volunteers!