Invasive Species Removal at UVic Queenswood Campus, February 25, 2023!
The Greater Victoria Green Team spent the day engaging 34 community members from all over the Greater Victoria region to remove invasive English ivy, Daphne, English holly, and other invasive plants at UVic’s Queenswood Campus! This was our 9th visit to this location.
Group Photo!
Highlights
- In total 34 community members participated and contributed over 100 volunteer hours!
- We removed 30 cubic metres of invasive plants (equivalent to the volume of 137 bathtubs!) and revitalized about 900 square metres of the forest!
- We removed about 5 pounds of garbage!
- 16 community members were introduced to this location for the very first time!
- 11 people learned about and removed invasive plants for the very first time!
THANK YOU
Thank you to everyone for participating: Anna, Alex, Ann, Paulo, Cathy, Caitlin, Camille, Taisha, Alex, Jessica, Alexa, Edna, Marika, Kai, Blythe, Leah, Shaelyn, Josie, Evelyn, Michelangelo, Yves, Luc, Kai, Rob, John, Kiersten, Elizabeth, Danial, Karen, Haruki, Melissa, Daniil, and Daniel !
Thank-you very much to the UVic office of Campus Planning and Sustainability for partnering with us and contributing to our Green Team activities! Thank you for recognizing the importance of collaboration in community engagement and ecological restoration!
Invasive species like English Ivy, Daphne, English Holly and Himalayan Blackberry have been crowding and shading out the native understory and threatening the trees growing on Queenswood Campus. Ivy can smother trees by competing with them for nutrients and light, which makes the trees weaker and more susceptible to fall. This is the Greater Victoria Green Team’s 8th visit to Queenswood Campus, and the difference we’ve made is truly inspiring! Native species like Trailing Blackberry and Oregon Grape are starting to grow in places that used to be covered in ivy.
Equally inspiring is seeing just how many people come out to tackle invasive species in this forest! Community members of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds came together on Saturday to connect with each other and with nature. It is truly amazing to see so many people working together towards a goal, all while having fun and making new friends!
Before… and After!
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
What Community Members are Saying:
Super well organized and fun way to get outside, meet people, and have a positive impact on the environment & community. The impact of this program is extremely positive & provides excellent work to the community. Really great opportunity to get outside, meet people of all ages, and feel good about working hard & removing invasive species.
Marika
I enjoyed removing thick vines and roots of English Ivy as well as chatting with other volunteers. Removal of invasive species allows native species to have a chance to grow and flourish
Evelyn
I enjoyed the work, the camaraderie, the homemade muffins. It is pretty darn excellent. You can see the difference immediately. As I pulled out the invasive ivy, native plants such as mahonia, trailing blackberry, salal and sword fern were all given space to grow and come back.
Melissa
I enjoyed everything. Great crew, great vibes. This program is providing much needed opportunities for the community to give back, and making it so dang enjoyable we keep coming back. Thank you
Yves
This program has a profound impact on the biodiversity within BC. The steps this program takes to support the native biodiversity within Victoria by removing invasive species, and also by returning to cleared locations for maintenance. Not only is the initial act of removal crucial for natural biodiversity to thrive and grow, but the maintenance of these locations is vital for long term habitat restoration.
I enjoyed everything, the snacks, the activities, the open-ness, the experience, being in nature.
Logan
Community In Action!
Thank you to the fantastic local eco-friendly business LUSH that donated In-kind products 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, know of or own a business who would like to provide in-kind to our Green Team, please contact Maria or Kaitlin at maria@greenteamscanada.ca or kaitlin@greenteamscanada.ca
