Invasive Species Removal in Porcher Park, Langford – September 24, 2023
*link new Flickr album above
Highlights From The Day
- 33 amazing members of the community joined us and contributed more than 100 hours!
- Thank you to everyone for participating: Kimberley, Kaydynce, Sage, Kara, Jordan, Ozioma, Rhianedd, Ruth, Brit, Margurite, Wes, Hannah, Aidan, Shyanna, Chloe, Rob, Jeff, Amane, Aoi, Bryden, Ayla, Caelen, Miriam, Morgan, Maria, Elle, Mauricio, Theo, Cindy, Dale, Becca, Mary, and Tallia!
- Together our team:
- Removed a volume of 23 cubic metres (over 142 bathtubs full) of invasive plant material!
- Revitalized about 371 square metres of the park!
- Scroll down to see before and after photos, as well as some in-action shots!
- All ages, backgrounds, and experience levels were engaged including families, returning Green Team volunteers, and first-timers!
- 29 people visited Porcher Park for the first time
- 14 people removed invasive plants for the first time
- Our Community Investment Partner, the City of Langford, provided direction and funding to make this activity possible!
This was our first time working in this park and we look forward to returning to continue our restoration work together! Our next activity in Porcher Park will be taking place on Saturday, October 28, 2023 where we will be continuing the work we began today! There is still space to join! RSVP and more details can be found HERE.
Before & After Photos
Why Do We Do This Work?
The Greater Victoria Green Team organizes hands-on educational activities that have a positive environmental impact to empower people. Through activities such as invasive plant removals, plantings, litter cleanups and more, we are fostering connections with others and nature so that health and well-being is prioritized, lifelong environmental stewardship is promoted, and community members are enabled to take care of themselves, each other and the places they live. We all have the power to make a difference!
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
Partner For This Activity
A big thank you to the City of Langford for partnering with our charity, Green Teams of Canada and providing the financial support and direction to make this activity possible!
Thank you for recognizing the importance of collaboration in community engagement and ecological restoration! Together we are restoring habitat and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship!
We are so excited to be returning to this park next month to continue this important work & remove event more invasive species! Please RSVP through our Meetup page HERE.
Community In Action!
What Participants Are Saying…
“This program gets citizens involved in their communities in so many positive ways: taking care of the environment, meeting new people from our own community as well as neighboring communities and students from other countries. Just a great experience all around.”
Marguerite
“Brings awareness to how such a simple act can help foster a stronger sense of community and at the same time improve the prospect of sustainability of such a precious space.”
Wes
“[I enjoyed] socializing with people and having a sense of accomplishment after we were done”
Ozioma
“I loved getting to connect with my community. I also loved that the park was within walking distance of my house, I really felt like I was contributing to improving my neighbourhood.”
Maria
“Not only did we make a huge difference to Porcher Park, we also made new friends and connections. Healthy green spaces make healthy communities….In addition to the bonding experiences a lot of us did not know this park existed. Overall this was an outstanding event.”
Jeff
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 Kaitlin at kaitlin@greenteamscanada.ca
Our Staff
This activity was run by our Program Manager, Kaitlin Warren (second from the right) and our Program Coordinator, Severine Tyszewicz (far right).
Severine was hired as part of the Youth Leadership Program, intended to empower the next generation of environmentally-focused community organizing!