Reg Franklin Park Oct 7th, 2020

October 9, 2020

Click here for PHOTOS from session 1 – 8.45am
Click here for PHOTOS from session 2 – 11.15am

Thank you

Awesome volunteers: Kai, Wayne, Dave, Adrien, Deacon, Audrey, Nya, Rylee, Josie, Christa, Evan, Malia, Riley, Kennedy, Liam, Jet, Kiera, Sophia, Cole, Chloe, Cadence, Audrey, Logan, Korben, Ocean, Quinn, Noah, Pepper, Mekina, Zahra, Nico, Kaeli, Rowan, Teagan, Liam, Daniel, Sarah, Sophie, Greta Wendy, and Karen. Your energy and good spirits made the event fly by, and with lots of smiles.

Thank you to the Alouette River Management Society for your continued support! Environmental stewardship is a collaborative effort and we depend on your support to further our mission.

Highlights

41 LGMT volunteers came out and contributed 82 hours!
1.5 cubic metres of Himalayan Blackberry was removed (250 square feet of Himalayan Blackberry)
Youth in grades 6-9 from Maple Ridge Environmental school participated. They were in their own class bubble so only a few students had masks on. We wore masks, physically distanced as well as sanitized tools and supplies. Implementing COVID safety measures and running safe activities is very important to us!
Teachers will be using this outdoor activity to show how math is used in the real world (e.g. measuring volume of blackberry removed and square feet area cleared)
There was a fun competition to see who dug up the biggest blackberry crown (root system)
32 youth had never removed Himalayan Blackberry before
18 had never been to Reg Franklin Park before
Thank you to our in-kind supporters who provided environmentally conscious gifts to our community: Green Beaver lip balm, and West Coast Seeds lettuce, beans, and vegetable seeds.

Himalayan Blackberry is an invasive species that out-competes low-growing native vegetation through shading and can spread rapidly to consume entire areas. To increase biodiversity, it is important to remove invasive plants as they are the second biggest threat to habitat. Morse Creek runs through Reg Franklin Park and this riparian restoration work will help build more resilience to these nutrient-bearing waters which feed downstream to the lower reaches of salmon habitat

“It’s a wonderful example of non-profit and community collaboration. With funding from the Pacific Salmon Foundation, we were able to connect with the Lower Mainland Green Teams awesome volunteer base to do good for the environment right here on Morse Creek”

-Greta Borick-Cunningham, Executive Director, ARMS

The Alouette River Management Society, Maple Ridge Adopt-a-Block, and Green Teams Canada plan to offer another Himalayan Blackberry removal activity on Sunday November 8. We encourage Maple Ridge community members to join! To sign up CLICK:

Remove invasive blackberry at 9.45am at Reg Franklin Park

Remove invasive blackberry at 12.15pm at Reg Franklin Pa