Thank you so much Greater Victoria Green Team participants for your hard work and enthusiasm:
Audrey, Alyssa, Autumn, Brednden, Carissa, Chloe, Clark, Dave, Dominic, Emily, Grey, Gurman, Jack, Jieun, Josi, Juanita, Kayley, Lincoln, Mayank, Nora, Patricia, Sierra, and Thomas!
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
- 75 hours contributed to habitat restoration
- 12 people planted native trees and shrubs for the first time
- 11 people removed invasive plants for the first time
- 12 people visited this new development for the first time
- 250 native shrubs and trees were planted
- 2 cubic metres of invasive plants removed (about 12 bathtubs full!)
- 14.5 lbs of litter removed from the site
- 155 square metres of habitat revitalized
Highlights
- This was our second activity in partnership with the City of Colwood and GableCraft Homes this year!
- Not only did we plant native trees and shrubs, but we also found an area of invasive Himalayan blackberry to pull, as well as removing litter found at the site throughout the day!
- Everyone loved the hot tea, brownies, veggies, and fresh fruit as a fun snack to keep energy levels up!
- Community members Erika and Lincoln helped us with takedown and packing up: thank you for your help!
- Community members enjoyed the additional education provided by our new plant signs, learning about identification in a fun, creative way!
- One of our community members shared some stories about the history of the site and his experience working on the construction projects in the development!
- It was a wet spring day but this was no match for our resilient community members!
- People joined this activity from all over, including people who live in the new development and others who travelled across the region to have fun connecting with each other.
- All ages, backgrounds, and experience levels were engaged including families, returning Green Team members, and first-timers!
Community Investment Partners and Sponsors
A huge THANK YOU to GableCraft Homes for making this activity possible with their financial support!
THANK YOU to the City of Colwood for providing direction and ecological expertise to guide this activity!
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 local eco-friendly business LUSH 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.
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.