Native Species Planting & Invasive Plant Removal at Esquimalt Gorge Park

November 15, 2025

Thank you so much Greater Victoria Green Team participants for your hard work and enthusiasm:

Aaron, Adam, August, Azza, Brandi, Brandy, Brendan, Bronwyn, Charlotte, Chloe, Corey, Dave, Emily, Emmy, Eric, Hannah, Harley, James, John, Kestrel, Krystal, Luca, Mason, Natasha, Otone, Raphael, Shane, Shota, Sophia, Vida & Yuliia

Rain or shine, we always have fun making an impact and connecting with each other! Keep on reading to find impacts, highlights and more from the day…

Impacts

31 community members engaged
8 people removed invasive plants for the first time
6 people visited Esquimalt Gorge Park for the first time
85 hours contributed to habitat restoration
5.5 cubic metres (34 bathtubs) of blackberry removed
143 native species planted including: Red Alder, Big-leaf Maple, Pacific Willow, Red-osier Dogwood, Salmonberry, Hardhack, Fireweed, June Plum, Red Elderberry, Salal, Black Twinberry, Red-flowering Currant, Pacific Ninebark alongside 30 grams of native wildflower (Woolly Sunflower, Yellow Monkey-flower, Yarrow) seed.

Highlights

This activity was a part of the Gorge Waterway Action Society’s Queering Climate Action project!
Community members joined us from across the Greater Victoria region including from Esquimalt, Victoria, Langford, Saanich, Central Saanich, View Royal, and Saanichton
- Our activities are designed to foster a sense of community that extends beyond municipal borders. By engaging community members from across the region, we are reminded that we are part of a larger, interconnected community and have a shared responsibility of creating a cleaner, healthier environment regardless of where we call home!
A barred owl met one of the leaders of this activity at the entrance of Esquimalt Gorge Park before everyone arrived with a couple of HOOT HOOTs, wishing her all the best for a successful activity!
Before we got going with the activity, we heard stories from participants about how they got their names (Kestrel‘s brother came up with her name, Krystal was named after the gem)
Many participants used active transportation to get to this activity: walking, biking, and bussing to the park. It is wonderful to see so many of our participants using sustainable modes of transport to get to our activities
We learned what participants like to do on rainy days and we heard things like, reading indoors, swimming, hiking, volleyball, looking at moss, and mushroom foraging
Thank you to August and Emily for helping to set up snacks
Thank you to everyone (particularly James!) for helping pack up
We loved August’s toque which had her name right on it (helped with remembering her name!)
Some community members walked, one rode their bicycle, a few people took the bus and some carpooled to participate!
Many people walking the park thanked the participants for the work they were doing to improve the health of the ecosystem
Our snacks included a healthy mix of vegetables, fruits and yummy less healthy snacks such as: Invasive ivy shaped sugar cookies, cucumbers, grapes, bananas, carrots, broccoli, apples, chocolate chip muffins, brownies, chips, oreo cookies, granola bars and sugar donuts.
- Shout out to Gorge Waterway Action Society for providing nice hot coffee to warm participants up!
The weather was a bit rainy to start but let up and ended up being perfect for digging up root crowns and planting! (so much easier!!)

What Community Members Said

"This is amazing to reconnect with the earth and where we are"

"Activities like this are really important because it connects people to the nature around them and if people don't know about it they don't care about it. This is educational but also makes people feel like they can do something about it "

"I think that the impact of these type of volunteering activities is that you can feel not hopeless about caring about the environment and feeling like you can actually doing something"

"I'm very excited to be able to help out my local community, a park that I visit very often, and be able to help out and get rid of the invasive plants - it's amazing with the community"

"It's great to be able to contribute to the health of our local parks, especially the ones I enjoy often in my own community - gives me a sense of ownership and responsibility for my environment. It's an easy way to be community-minded and an easy way to spend quality time outside"

Video of Kestral talking about the importance of connecting people to nature

Video of Krystal talking about the hope that comes from participating in activities like these

Video of Emily talking about helping out her local community

Video of Harley talking about the way removing invasive plants and planting native plants improves mental and physical health as well as the environment

Video of Aaron talking about connecting with the earth

Community Investment Partner

THANK YOU to the Gorge Waterway Action Society (GWAS) for partnering and working with our charity, Green Teams of Canada, and making this activity possible with their financial support and direction!

A special thank you to Andrea, GWAS Program Manager, for co-leading this activity and to Brad, GWAS Executive Director, and Stephanie, GWAS Director of Operations, for supporting this activity on the ground!

Email Andrea at andrea@gorge.ca to get involved with GWAS’s wonderful programs!

Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.

In-Kind Support

A big thank you to our in-kind supporter for donating products to show appreciation for our community members: LUSH for sharing their eco-friendly personal care products such as body scrubs, body wash and lotions

If you’re interested in contributing in-kind or have ideas for potential partnerships, please contact Kaitlin. Your support makes a difference!

Why We Do This Work

The Greater Victoria 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 dedicated team is passionate about creating engaging, high-quality activities that foster a sense of belonging, connection to nature while raising environmental awareness. We strive to make a positive impact on our environment and to build a thriving community that cares for it.

This activity was run by Green Teams of Canada’s Founder and Executive Director, Lyda

Partnerships Manager, Kaitlin Warren, supported this activity behind the scenes.