Thank you to everyone who participated in our TD Tree Days event!
Aisha, Alyssa, Aminah, Anu, Anna, Michael, Catherine, Archie, Barb, Bernadette, Ezekiel, Chris M., Chris S., Christian, Clair, Dalvinder, David, Devan, Faten, Fatimah, Hana, Hannah W., Hannah S., Harsmita, Heikal, John, Jade, Kaden, Kelsey, Kevin, Kieran, Monica, Robert, Nadita, Navjot, Nouk, Raheel, Fern, Sean, Shannon, Sushant, Sydney, Wendy, Zeyna, & Zhuo!
We had a great day at this TD Tree Days event at Ruth Johnson Park!
Community members came together to plant more than 500 Native trees & shrubs here to help restore this beautiful green space!
Read all about our day below!
Impacts
- 44 community members were engaged
- 22 participants visited Ruth Johnson Park for the first time
- 21 participants planted for the first time
- 22 participants visited Ruth Johnson Park for the first time
- Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland including from White Rock itself, Surrey, Langley, Burnaby, Maple Ridge and Richmond!
- 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
- 122 hours were contributed towards restoring local habitat
- 504 native trees and shrubs were planted, including Bigleaf Maple, Vine Maple, Sword Ferns, Salmonberry, Thimbleberry, Red Elderberry, Nootka Rose, Oregon Grape, Pacific Dogwood, and Snowberry!
- 622 square metres of habitat was revitalized!
Highlights
- This was a TD Tree Days event organized with TD and with guidance & support from the City of White Rock! This is the 15th year of TD Tree Days!
- This activity built on the efforts of our team and the City of White Rock that started in this part of the park in 2021 and as part of 13 years of Lower Mainland Green Team stewardship in Ruth Johnson Park!
Read summaries and see photos of past activities below!- June 14, 2025 with the community removing invasive Small Balsam and clearing the area for our planting today!
- June 10, 2025 with local students learning about invasive plants here and removing Small Balsam & Herb Robert at this site too!
- Oct. 5, 2024, our last TD Tree Day Event in this part of the park!
- Sept. 19, 2023, another TD Tree Day Event in this area of the park!
- Mar. 3 and Apr. 22, 2021, some of our very first activities in this area! Check out what it used to look like!
- We had several volunteers return to the park after past activities removing invasive plants here this Spring and previous TD Tree Days events, all were excited to build on their work and continuing to steward this space! We couldn’t have succeeded today without all their previous efforts!
- Hannah & Kelsey found the tree they planted here way back in 2023 still growing strong!
- We were excited to plant some of the largest trees we’ve ever planted in the park, like this Bigleaf Maple!
- We also removed some invasive English Ivy & Small Balsam around these plants to best set them up for success and learned how to identify invasive English Holly (commonly confused with the native Oregon Grape) and native Trailing Blackberry that is thriving here after our invasive plant removals in the past!
- LMGT Partnerships Manager, Ashton, brought her legendary vegan brownies that everybody loved trying!
- All ages, backgrounds, abilities & experience levels came out including TD employees, families, students, working professionals, retirees, first timers, & returning LMGTers!
- We enjoyed yummy snacks including coffee, homemade vegan brownies, mini-strawberry cream cheese turnovers, cucumbers with dill dip & carrots with spinach dip, fruit gummies, granola bars and more!
- Anna and her kids Michael & Catherine saw us on a walk through the park and decided to jump in and help us plant!
- Rob helped demo how to plant these trees & shrubs! Check out his Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3 videos!
- Special thank you to:
- Sean, our TD Site Leader from the White Rock TD Branch who helped lead this event! This was his second time leading and third time volunteering with TD Tree Days events!
- City of White Rock staff Jamie & Andy for placing all of our plants, demonstrating planting techniques, and supporting community members
- Members of Human Appeal Canada for joining us to support this planting today as well!
- Wendy for helping to check people in and run our snack break!
- Everyone for such an amazing day!
What Community Members Said
Video of Hannah and Kelsey, who removed invasive plants from this park before & cleaned up litter from the beach with our team too, talking about loving their experience and how impactful it is do join these activities!
Video of Kieran & Claire, talking about planting, spending time outside, and giving back to nature!
Video of Fern, talking about planting a Vine Maple and her experience of the day!
Video of Hana & Archer, talking about all the plants we planted, looking forward to seeing their work in future, and the appeal of our tasty treats!
TD Tree Days
We worked with TD to deliver this TD Tree Days event thanks to support received from the TD Tree Days grant.
Special thanks to Michelle, Blayre, and our TD Site Leader, Sean, from the White Rock TD Branch!
TD Tree Days is a flagship volunteer program of the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation and aims to provide TD colleagues, their friends and family, and community members, the opportunity to volunteer to help build healthy communities by planting trees and shrubs in urban and rural greenspaces.
This year, TD is working together with 60 different organizations to plant over 30,000 trees and shrubs which will add to the more than 555,000 trees & shrubs that volunteers have planted through TD Tree Days since 2010. In alignment with the TD Ready Commitment, TD Tree Days events are helping to create a more vibrant planet by growing and enhancing green spaces in communities within the TD footprint.
Read a summary of our last TD Tree Days event at this park in 2024 HERE!
Guidance & Support
Thank you to the City of White Rock for being a Community Investment Partner to make our work in White Rock possible. City staff Andre & Spencer played a key role in organizing this activity and Jamie & Andy joined us on-site to ensure a fun & safe day!
Their direction and support was key to making this activity the success it was and included the selection, ordering, & placement of all of our plants, a demonstration of proper planting techniques, and support for community members!
In-Kind Support
A big thank you to our in-kind supporters!
Lush provided their fantastic shower gels, body conditioner, and bath bombs with natural ingredients, sustainable packaging, and made in Canada! Our participants were really happy to take these gifts home!
Ola Bamboo provided great bamboo cutlery kits including a fork, knife, spoon, straw, and a straw cleaner! They are another Canadian company with the mission to reduce plastic waste by offering eco-friendly products that are affordable and easy to use. Our volunteers loved these sets!
If you’re interested in contributing in-kind or have ideas for potential partnerships, please contact Ashton Kerr. Your support makes a difference!
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, litter clean-ups and more, 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!
GTC Staff Who Made This Activity Happen!
Our staff work hard to run high-quality community activities. Outreach, activity logistics, social media, reporting on impacts, partnership building and more – they do it all!
Ashton Kerr, the Lower Mainland Green Team’s Partnerships Manager, Max Muehlen, our Lower Mainland Green Team’s Program Manager, and Simryn Dhensaw, our Lower Mainland Green Team Program Assistant, led this activity together!