Invasive Species Removal with The Land Conservancy of BC – October 29th, 2023
Highlights From The Day
- 13 amazing members of the community joined us and contributed about 40 volunteer hours to restoring the protected area!
- Thank you to everyone for participating: John, Gabby, Josh, Ayla, Avery, Walter, Mimi, Paul, Rena, Shreena, Justin, Ryan, and Jie!
- Together our team:
- Removed a volume of 6 cubic metres (approximately 37 bathtubs full) of invasive plant material!
- Revitalized about 350 square metres of the protected area!
- 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!
- 4 people removed invasive plants for the first time at this activity!
Our Community Investment Partner, the The Land Conservancy of BC, provided direction and funding to make this activity possible!
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 The Land Conservancy of BC for partnering with our charity, Green Teams of Canada and providing the financial support and direction to make this activity possible!
The Land Conservancy of BC is a collaboration-focused Land Trust non-profit organization that protects important habitats. TLC “envisions a future where the biological diversity of BC, including areas of scientific, historical, cultural, scenic and compatible outdoor recreational value, are protected for the benefit of current and future generations.”
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!
Learn more about TLC and how to become more involved with their organization on their website.
Community In Action!
Snack Break!
Community members enjoyed homemade baked goods (including chocolate chip cookies and vegan brownies), fresh fruits and vegetables, granola bars, and a halloween candy treat! We also had the opportunity to socialize some more and learn more about the site from our TLC partners!
Special Addition!
John, one of our dedicated community members, brought along some garry oak seeds that were beginning to sprout! We were able to plant them in a sunny grove in the site to encourage more native species to come back in this forest!
What Participants are Saying…
It’s just a great way to spend time outside while restoring an area and to meet people
Shreena
Everyone is super welcoming and I love being able to meet a lot of new people and enjoy the beautiful Victoria area
Gabby
I’m really happy to have been here today. It has been a great experience kind of helping to preserve the lands and help keep the native species population in tact and help remove some of the invasive species. It’s been really nice. I’m definitely coming back!
Josh
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
Staff
This activity was run by our Program Manager, Kaitlin Warren, and TLC staff Torrey (with the monarch butterfly wings) and Emily (dressed as a ghost).
Thank you so much Torrey and Emily, and the whole TLC team, for working with us to make this activity possible! Thank you for bringing some festive fun to our photo shoot during snack break!