Thank you so much Lower Mainland Green Teamers for your hard work and enthusiasm!
Amy, Barb, Bernadette, Brooke, Candy, Carolina, Cathy, Chamara, Clyde, Dianne, Elaine, Elvis, Ezekiel, Gary, Giulianna, Golriz, Haoran, Hina, Jan, John, Josh, Lin, Linda, Lissa, Meggy, Mia, Min Jae Benjamin, Rebeca, Fern, Stella, Stephen, Thomas, Travis, Vesna, and Xiaohua!
Thank you as well to our volunteer Litter Leaders who played a vital role in leading this community clean-up!
Amos, Prabhjot, Stephen, & Tom!
Some early rain couldn’t stop these amazing dedicated volunteers from building a stronger community together by
tackling trash along the waterfront & preventing ocean pollution!
Keep reading our impacts, highlights, and more from the day…
Impacts
- 40 community members engaged!
- 7 people visited White Rock Beach for the first time
- 25 people removed litter for the first time
- 133 hours contributed to preventing pollution & protecting habitat!
- Over 206 pounds of litter of all shapes, sizes and weights were removed from the beach, promenade, and areas along Marine Drive!
This is a new record for our White Rock Litter Cleanups! - About 1,200 pieces of litter were tracked and removed including:
- 663+ cigarette butts
- 54+ bits of paper and cardboard
- 173+ food wrappers
- 8+ pieces of glass
- 59+ cups & lids
- 41+ plastic bags
- 60+ bottles & cans
- 13+ pieces of metal
- 7+ pieces of styrofoam
- 3+ electronics & batteries
- and more!
- Some interesting finds include…
- Part of a BBQ
- Stuffed Animals
- Many ice cream cups & spoons
- Shoes, Sandals & Crocs
- Underwear
- Part of a Boat
- A Wreath
- Bike Seat
- Lunch Pail
- Toy Car
- Half a Watermelon
- Folding Chair
- Guitar Pick
- Waterwheel Toy
- Hoodie
- Tarps
- Dog Toothbrush
- And more!
Highlights
- We gave litter the boot from the White Rock Waterfront!
- This was our second and final community litter cleanup in White Rock this Summer! Read about how our first cleanup on July 20th went here!
- Between this activity and our July 20th Cleanup, we removed more than 325 pounds of litter from White Rock’s waterfront this year!
- Member of Parliament for South Surrey-White Rock, MP Ernie Klassen, joined us to share his appreciation for everyone’s hard work and for the strong community we were building! Thank you MP Klassen!
- We split into 3 groups to maximize our impact across the waterfront but everyone got to enjoy time walking along the beach, promenade, and sidewalks while cleaning up the community!
- Participants enjoyed learning about common litter myths, the impacts of different types of litter, and how to take action to protect our wildlife, our environment, and ourselves!
- Many passersby thanked us for our work, and some jumped in to join us!
- We got to enjoy the ocean breeze at our snack break by the sea including delicious treats like brownies, spicy fava bean mix, veggie stix, fresh carrots, and more!
- Community members joined from across the Lower Mainland, including from White Rock, Surrey, Langley, Burnaby, and Richmond to make a positive impact, which goes to show the power of these activities to bring people together!
- People of all ages, backgrounds, abilities, and experience levels came out including families, students, working professionals, retirees, first timers, returning LMGTers and newcomers!
- Special thank you to:
- Our volunteer Litter Leaders Amos, Tom, Stephen, & Prabhjot for doing a fantastic job leading participants along their cleanup routes!
- If you’re interested in volunteering to be a Litter Leader at an upcoming litter cleanup, we welcome you to apply on our website HERE!
- Every single person who joined us for this wonderful event, spending quality outdoor time in great company, and sharing their dedication to the community!
- Our volunteer Litter Leaders Amos, Tom, Stephen, & Prabhjot for doing a fantastic job leading participants along their cleanup routes!
Video of Travis, talking about having a great experience trying this for the first time and making a big impact!
Video of Giuliana, talking about the impacts of this activity and making a difference picking up this trash!
Video of Brooke & Cooper, talking about the fun they had and setting a good example!
Community Investment Partner
THANK YOU to the City of White Rock for providing financial support and direction to make this activity possible! Special thanks to Justin, Spencer, & Ralph for their roles in making this activity a success!
Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.
This was the second of two litter cleanups we ran in White Rock this summer, and we’ll have more activities upcoming together this Fall to remove invasive plants and planting hundreds of native plants here! Keep an eye on our Meetup Page for these activites!
In-Kind Support
A big thank you to our in-kind supporters!
Lush provided their fantastic shower gels and body conditioners with natural ingredients, sustainable packaging, and made in Canada! Our participants were really happy to take these gifts home!
If you’re interested in contributing in-kind or have ideas for potential partnerships, please contact Ashton Kerr. Your support makes a difference!
Why We Do This Work
The Lower Mainland Green Team is a program of the charity Green Teams of Canada.
We believe in the transformative power of hands-on environmental activities to empower individuals and strengthen communities.
Through initiatives like invasive plant removals, tree plantings, and litter clean-ups, we not only foster connections among participants but also deepen their relationship with nature. Spending time outdoors has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety while enhancing mood, focus, and overall mental and physical health.
Our activities are designed to be inclusive, welcoming individuals of all backgrounds, ages, abilities, and skill levels.
What sets us apart is we attract a wide mix of young community members who may not otherwise spend time outside, igniting their passion for nature and environmental care.
We are committed to instilling an environmental ethic that leads to lasting behaviour change. We aim to create a sense of belonging and connection to place, encouraging participants to recognize their ability to make a meaningful impact.
Together, we can all make a difference. Join us as we build a brighter, greener future for everyone!
Staff Who Made This Activity Possible
Our staff work hard to run high-quality community activities. Outreach, activity logistics, social media, reporting on impacts, partnership building and more – they do it all!
Max Muehlen, our Lower Mainland Green Team’s Program Manager and Ashton Kerr, the Lower Mainland Green Team’s Partnerships Manager, led this activity together!