This activity was organized in partnership with the City of White Rock
Thank you to all of the community members who joined us!
Aaron, Adam, Amy, Anne, Anisa, Aureus, Belindo, Brian, Carl, Chi, Christopeter, G, Glenn, Jaymie, Kevin, Laurence, Leah, Meckhale, Meggy, Michael, Mohamed, Noreen, Pattie, Peter & Ray!
Thank you to our volunteer Litter Leaders who played a vital role in leading this community clean-up:
Adam, Aureus & Mohamed!
Community Impacts
25 community members were engaged, contributing 81 hrs to environmental action!
- 40% visited White Rock Beach for the first time
- 52% removed litter for the first time
20 participants completed a survey, and results showed:
- 90% felt inspired to take future environmental action
- 95% felt a sense of belonging & connection to others
- 100% felt their well-being improved
- 95% said time spent in nature contributed
- 90% said said feeling pride in what they did contributed
- 85% helping the environment contributed
- 85% said meeting people contributed
- 85% increased their understanding of environmental issues
- 85% learned new things (e.g. impacts of litter, how this work supports community well-being, how environmental activities like this are planned & run, what they can personally do to make a difference)
- 85% developed new skills (e.g. teamwork, communicating with others)
Change starts with people. To have a lasting environmental impact, people need to feel connected, capable and empowered to take action.
Our activities are designed to increase:
- Community resilience & social connection
- Well-being through time in nature
- Participation in climate & environmental action
- Awareness of environmental issues
- Connection to local places & natural areas
- A culture of volunteerism & civic engagement
Environmental Impacts
- 63 lbs of litter were removed from the beach, promenade and street!
- 1,240+ pieces of litter were tracked and removed including:
- 695 cigarette butts
- 233 food wrappers/packaging
- 99 bottles & cans
- 66 plastic bags
- 48 bits of paper & cardboard
- 36 cups & lids
- 25 pieces of glass
- 24 pieces of metal
- Some interesting finds included:
- A broken, with the lid found by one group on the promenade, and the grill found on the beach by another!
- Bike fender
- Sunglasses
- Chef’s knife
- Fake pearl
- Football
- Broken bucket
- Part of a car bumper
- Shot glass
- THC containers
- Vape
- And much more!
Highlights
- Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland including from White Rock itself, South Surrey, North Surrey, Langley, Maple Ridge, New Westminster and Vancouver!
- Environmental & social issues don’t have borders. By bringing together people from across the region, participants see others showing up to care for places beyond their own neighbourhoods. This reminds us that we share responsibility for the people & places around us, and that we’re all in this together.
- We had many passersby, both on foot and in cars, express their thanks!
- We had many wildlife moments, seeing a Kingfisher, Blue Heron, and got a closer look at insects such as as this butterfly resting in the sun and crickets!
- We found many pieces of litter hidden in the large rocks of the beach. A mixture of people forgetting them, intentionally leaving them and the tide washing them up there!
- It started off as a cool day, then the sun came out for our team!
- Many delicious snacks were enjoyed during our snack break, including homemade vegan brownies, pineapple, honeydew & watermelon, carrots & cucumbers, sour cream & onion pretzel twists, lemon biscotti, trail mix, granola bars, fruit snacks and more!
- Our Litter Leaders Adam, Aurues & Mohamed did a wonderful job guiding and supporting community members in this litter cleanup! We couldn’t have done it without them!
- Each of these Litter Leaders had joined us at a White Rock activity in the past, and now have taken the initiative to help us lead!
- Interested in helping as a volunteer Litter Leader for our 2027 cleanups? Find more information here!
- Thank you to Christopeter for bringing out a group from Tau Gamma Phi to join us!
- Thank you to Peter and Kevin from the Rotary Club of White Rock for joining us!
- People of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and experience levels came out including families, students, working professionals, retirees, first timers, returning LMGTers and newcomers!
- The White Rock South Surrey Climate Corps is also leading litter recently along the waterfront in October! We love seeing many groups working together to engage the community and keep the places we live healthy and clean!
- We’ve been working in partnership with the City of White Rock since 2013! Check out a few of our past activities below:
What Community Members Said
12 participants shared what this activity meant to them:
Video of Amy, speaking about feeling good helping create a clean place to live and removing things that don’t belong!
Community Investment Partner
Delivered in partnership with the City of White Rock, our Community Investment Partner.
Green Teams of Canada and the City of White Rock are working together to achieve our shared environmental and community objectives.
The City provides ecological direction, while we bring expertise in community engagement – mobilizing people to take meaningful environmental action and inspiring future stewardship.
This partnership includes financial investment from the City to build connection, improve well-being, and create lasting environmental and community impact.
Special thanks to City staff Andre, Spencer, and Ralph for their valued contributions in bringing this activity to life.
This was 7th of 9 activities we’re organizing together this year.
In-Kind Support
Thank you to the following businesses for providing in-kind to support this activity:
- LUSH for providing their bath bombs & soaps prioritizing fresh ingredients, minimal packaging & no animal testing
When socially and environmentally conscious businesses provide in-kind rewards for our community members, it helps us encourage local and responsible consumption beyond our activities.
Businesses can also further enable us to run high-quality, safe and impactful activities by providing gift cards, refreshments, tools, gloves, and other supplies.
If you’re interested in contributing in-kind or have ideas for potential partnerships, please contact Ashton Kerr.
Staff Who Made This Activity Possible
Our dedicated staff are passionate about community engagement and environmental action. Their work includes extensive outreach, activity logistics, social media, reporting on impacts, partnership building and MUCH more!
This activity was led by Paige Hunter, Lower Mainland Green Team Program Manager, and Ashton Kerr, Director of Partnerships & Programs.
We Are All In This TOGETHER! The Future Depends on Us
The Lower Mainland Green Team is a program of the charity Green Teams of Canada, engaging communities in hands-on environmental action since 2011.
We bring people together to improve well-being and inspire environmental stewardship. Through activities like invasive plant removal, native species planting, and litter clean-ups, participants take practical action and see the impact they can make.
What sets us apart is our focus on people. Our activities are inclusive and accessible to all ages, abilities and experience levels, especially those new to environmental action. Many join for the first time, deepen their understanding of environmental issues and leave feeling capable and motivated to take future action.
We also strengthen and support the broader stewardship network by working with governmental agencies, non-profits, land trusts, volunteer-led groups, schools, and businesses, bringing new people into existing efforts and expanding their reach. Many participants go on to deepen their involvement, take on leadership roles, or contribute to other initiatives.
We believe lasting environmental change starts with people. By creating meaningful opportunities for people to take part, we help build more connected, resilient communities.
We can all make a difference!