Shrub planting & invasive blackberry & scotch broom removal at Everett Crowley Park, Vancouver

October 26, 2024

Thank you to everyone who participated in this shrub planting & invasive blackberry & broom removal:

Athena, Bynthavy, Callie, Charlotte, David, Denise, Dianne, Donna, Eirene, Eric, Evie, Felix, Guan Yu, Harveen, Jamielyn, Katya, Kevin, Kirti, Kody, Kyle, Lily, Logan, Mel, Michael, Nicole, Ocean, Olivia, Pele, Ronald, Sid, Susan, Suzie, Tazz, Tom & Brennan

It was a beautiful day at Everett Crowley Park!

Impacts

35 people were engaged in this activity
95 hours were contributed towards restoring local habitat
Participants came from all over the Lower Mainland including: Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, Surrey, Coquitlam, Langley & North Vancouver. Our activities are designed to foster a sense of community that transcend municipal borders. By engaging community members from all around the Lower Mainland, Vancouver residents realize that they are part of a larger, interconnected community and that we all have a responsibility of creating a cleaner, healthier environment regardless of where we call home.
20 participants visited Everett Crowley Park for the first time
14 participants removed invasive plants for the first time
16 participants planted native plants for the first time
125 native Red Flowering Currant and Thimbleberry were planted
2 cubic metres (13 bathtubs) of invasive Himalayan blackberry, Scotch Broom, Common Tansy and Reed Canary Grass were removed

Our Invasive Plant Removal & Planting Site

Highlights

We are grateful to Vancouver Park Board Commissioners Brennan Bastyovanszky & Tom Digby for joining us and demonstrating support for the community members. Thank you for believing in the work that Everett Crowley Park Committee and Lower Mainland Green Team do!
We heard the croaking of the Pacific Tree Frog
Many passerbys thanked us for our work
Evie on her E-bike and trailer and community members transported tools, gloves, table & tent to our site and back at the end of the activity!
After their hard work, community members enjoyed: ivy shaped cookies, brownies, madeleines, Shiitake mushrooms chips, mandarines, bananas, nuts, snap peas, carrots, grapes, strawberries, salmon jerky & juice
We built on previous work at this park on Nov 25th 2023
Sylvia, an Everett Crowley Park Committee board member, came by to visit and reconnected with Lyda, the founder of the Lower Mainland Green Team. They ran activities together years ago and it was great to meet again!
Community members learned about Everett Crowley Park Committee’s monthly volunteer opportunity and that they can email ecpc@vcn.bc.ca or ecpcstewards@gmail.com to learn more!

What Participants Said

"It was really well organized. The leader was energetic and positive and it was really fun. It was also a good structure removing invasive plants followed by planting shrubs!"

"I feel that this program has a significant impact on restoring and preserving the natural ecosystem at Everett Crowley Park. By removing invasive blackberry plants and replanting native shrubs, it helps maintain biodiversity and promotes a healthier environment for local wildlife and plant species. It also raises awareness about ecological conservation among volunteers and the community"

"The feel impact of this program is the bringing together community and providing it with hope and gratitude through personal engagement in social and environmental activities that inspire further learning and ripples of wellbeing for all."

"I thoroughly enjoyed getting dirty, improving the land and working with such great people"

"This program helps bring the community together, improves awareness towards the importance of biodiversity and the impacts of climate change, and improves public green spaces. "

Videos of participants talking about the impact of this activity:

Kirti talking about enjoying planting shrubs

Olivia talking about how this activity lifted her spirit

Logan talking about how the site was transformed by our work

Kody & Pele talking about how they enjoy giving back to the community & the environment

Community Investment Partner

We sincerely thank the Everett Crowley Park Committee for providing direction and financial support and for sharing their knowledge. This activity was a great success and together we made a significant impact on both the health and well-being of community members and the environment!

To follow their amazing work and join their monthly stewardship activities check out their: meetup, instagram and facebook

A special thanks to Damian, Evie, and Brenda.

Together we are creating opportunities for community members to connect with each other and nature, fostering a greater sense of stewardship for our environment!

In-kind Support

Thank you to our in-kind supporters: Gathering Place & Green Beaver for providing their wonderful products to our hard-working community members to take home.

Please contact Ashton if you are interested in providing in-kind.

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 behavior 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 Happen!

Our staff work hard to create high-quality activities. Partnership building, fundraising, outreach, social media, activity logistics, leading on-the-ground, reporting on impacts and more – they do it all!

Lyda Salatian, our Founder and Executive Director led this activity with behind the scenes support from Ashton Kerr, the Lower Mainland Green Team’s Partnerships Manager.