Thank you so much Greater Victoria Green Team participants for your hard work and enthusiasm:
Afrika, Alvin, Anthony, Deanna, Don, Eeshan, Harriette, Jason B., Jason J., Jieun, Karen, Keith, Kuenley, Lisa, Luis, Mari, Mary, Miki, Oskarla, Ozioma, Rena, Ruth, Sangay, Sara, Sophia, Tshering, and Yangfan!
What a fun day we had connecting people to one another and nature, all while restoring habitat! Keep on reading to find impacts, highlights and more from the day…
Impacts
- 27 community members engaged
- 84 hours contributed to cleaning up our community
- 13 people visited Langford Station for the first time
- 22 people participated in their very first litter clean up on this day!
- 92.5 pounds of litter (the weight of a bloodhound) was removed from the sides of streets, along sidewalks and green spaces in downtown Langford
- 8000 square metres of sidewalks and green spaces along the sides of the road was cleaned up thanks to the hard work of everyone participating
- We found an interesting variety of items including pieces of clothing, food wrappers, plastic bags, and the most common piece of litter: cigarette butts
Litter Collected
- 2,452 cigarette butts
- 236 pieces of paper and cardboard
- 190 food wrappers
- 174 plastic bags
- 76 pieces of styrofoam
- 74 cups and lids
- 60 pieces of metal
- 26 bottles / cans
- 19 pieces of clothing
- 15 electronics
Additional items found: confetti, sunglass arm, gum, pom pom, pencil, ball, Lego, plastic poppy, electrical wires, zip ties, screws, nail, shoe laces, floss, a tire, coin, a baby cover, organizer, screw driver
Highlights
- This was our second litter clean up activity in partnership with the Langford Engineering Department!
- It was a bit of a rainy spring day but the energy of these community members was so bright!
- We tracked what types of garbage we collected using an app created by one of our amazing community members, Chris!
- A big thank you to City of Langford Councillors, Kieth Yacucha, Mary Wagner, and Colby Harder for joining us, showing your support for this activity, and engaging with the community!
- We had the opportunity to work alongside some of the participants in the Vital Youth Program from Belmont Secondary School who nominated us to receive a grant from the Victoria Foundation: thank you for supporting our Team!
- Everyone loved the brownies, veggies, and fresh fruit as a fun snack to keep energy levels up!
- Community member Deanna helped us with takedown: thank you for your help!
- All ages, backgrounds, and experience levels were engaged including families, returning Green Team members, and first-timers!
Community Investment Partner
THANK YOU to the City of Langford Engineering Department for providing financial support and direction to guide this activity!
This activity took place as part of the City of Langford‘s Earth Week celebrations which were sponsored by Hakai Energy Solutions.
Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.
In-Kind Support
Thank you to the fantastic Canadian, eco-friendly business Green Beaver that donated In-kind products for our hard-working community members to take home!
Please contact Kaitlin Warren. if you are interested in providing in-kind.
Thank you to the generous local business, Island Cleaning Supplies that helped us out by providing us with the litter pickers we needed to collect litter safely!
Why 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!
We all experience mental and physical health benefits from spending time in nature, including reduced stress and anxiety, and improved mood, focus, memory and more. While doing so, we can also have a positive impact on the environment as demonstrated through this activity!
Staff Who Made This Activity Possible
Greater Victoria Green Team Program Manager, Kaitlin Warren and Program Coordinator, Severine Tyszewicz, work hard behind the scenes to bring these high-quality activities to you.
Partnership building, outreach, social media, activity logistics, leading on-the-ground, reporting on impacts and more – they can do it all!
Severine was hired as part of Green Teams of Canada’s Youth Leadership Program, intended to empower the next generation of environmentally-focused community organizing.