This activity was co-hosted by TD and the Lower Mainland Green Team, with support from the City of White Rock
Thank you to all of the community members who joined us!
Abdeali, Alan, Alisha, Allan, Anwar, Aureus, Barb, Bernadette, Brian, Chimdi, Corinne, Diego, Elizabeth, Ezekiel, Gary, Gaurav, Geoff, Gillian, Harper, Hyejin, Jan, Jarod, Jas, Jonn, Joshua, Julia, Mohamed, Monica, Ravinder, Sammie, Chris, Shantelle, Sheldon, Sienna, Stella, Stephen, Tony, Tyler, Valen, Victoria, Weiny, and Shruti!
Community Impacts
42 community members were engaged, contributing 126 hrs to environmental action!
- 45% visited Ruth Johnson Park for the first time
- 45% planted for the first time
18 participants completed a survey, and results showed:
- 94% felt inspired to take future environmental action
- 100% felt a sense of belonging & connection to others
- 100% felt their well-being improved
- 94% said time spent in nature contributed
- 89% said feeling pride in what they did contributed
- 83% said helping the environment contributed
- 83% said being physically active contributed
- 100% increased their understanding of environmental issues
- 100% learned new things such as how to care for the environment, how this work supports community well-being, about Ruth Johnson Park, and how environmental activities like this are planned & run
- 100% developed new skills such teamwork & hands-on environmental action
Change starts with people. To have a lasting environmental impact, people need to feel connected, capable and empowered to take action.
Our activities are designed to increase:
- Community resilience & social connection
- Well-being through time in nature
- Participation in climate & environmental action
- Awareness of environmental issues
- Connection to local places & natural areas
- A culture of volunteerism & civic engagement
Environmental Impacts
- 551 native trees & shrubs were planted including Salmonberry, Sword fern, Snowberry, Nootka rose, Oregon grape, Red elderberry, Pacific ninebark, June plum (Osoberry), Western red cedar, Pacific dogwood, Vine maple, & Big-leaf maple
- 632 square metres of Ruth Johnson Park were revitalized
- 33 pounds of litter were found and removed
Highlights
- Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland including from White Rock itself, South Surrey, North Surrey, Delta, New Westminster, Port Moody, Vancouver, Burnaby, Langley, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and Mission!
- Environmental & social issues don’t have borders. By bringing together people from across the region, participants see others showing up to care for places beyond their own neighbourhoods. This reminds us that we share responsibility for the people & places around us, and that we’re all in this together.
- We had many large trees to plant, and for most people it was their first time getting to plant a tree of that size! Lots of teamwork was needed to plant these trees
- Halfway through it started to pour rain, but that didn’t stop us from having fun!
- The soil may have been tough… but our team was tougher! We worked hard to get all these plants in the ground, with the City of White Rock doing a final sweep to make sure everything was planted
- We removed some crazy things from the forest which do not belong… including a drill, a circular saw, a pipe, a garbage lid, an inhaler, a baseball, a shoe, rope and more!
- Bernadette and Ezekiel returned for the 2nd TD Tree Days in a row with us at this park!
- Thank you to South Surrey-White Rock MP Ernie Klassen and White Rock Mayor Chris Shields for coming out to support this activity and express their thanks to everyone!
- City of White Rock staff Spencer & Jamie started working in the early hours of the morning before this activity to get all of our plants placed in the areas they will best grow and ready for planting. They played an essential role in this activity!
- 6 staff from Moment Energy joined us, with many planting for the very first time!
- Members of the Earthwork Club at Semiahmoo Secondary School joined us thanks to leadership from Abdeali!
- Many delicious snacks were enjoyed during our snack break, including homemade vegan brownies, dill pickle popcorn, cliff bars, Scooby Doo fruit snacks, granola bars, swiss cheese crackers and more!
- Special thank you to:
- Anwar for setting up snack, collecting empty plant pots, pre-packing our vehicle and lending a hand wherever needed, despite having an injured wrist!
- Jarod for helping with loading and unloading our vehicle with tools and supplies at our storage locker, setting up and taking down at the park, and inviting staff of Moment Energy to join!
- Shruti for being our TD Site Leader and helping support behind the scenes tasks of this activity!
- People of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and experience levels came out including families, students, working professionals, retirees, first timers, returning LMGTers and newcomers!
- We’ve been working at Ruth Johnson Park since 2013! Check out a few past activities below:
- Sept 19, 2026 (our latest activity in Ruth Johnson Park)
- Oct 4, 2025 (last year’s TD Tree Days activity!)
- Sept 19, 2023 (our 2023 TD Tree Days activity!)
What Community Members Said
15 participants shared what this activity meant to them:
Video of John and Elizabeth speaking about how they’ve been doing this for 3+ years and love giving back to the community and getting a good workout while volunteering!
Video of Shruti and Guarav speaking about having people come together for the environment and being thankful for the opportunity to make an impact!
Video of Joshua speaking about connecting with people and making new friends at LMGT activities after moving to the area, spending time in nature and doing something to be proud of!
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 Arrabi and our TD Site Leader Shruti!
TD Tree Days is the flagship volunteer and urban greening program of the of the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation. More than a day of tree planting, the program gives people an opportunity to show up for the places we share, connect with neighbours, colleagues, friends and family, and learn from local experts.
In 2026, TD is working with 75 organizations to plant more than 30,000 trees and shrubs. This will contribute to the more than 590,000 trees and shrubs planted by volunteers through TD Tree Days since 2010.
Guidance and Support
Thank you to the City of White Rock, our Community Investment Partner, for providing guidance and support for this activity.
The City provides ecological direction, while we bring expertise in community engagement – mobilizing people to take meaningful environmental action and inspiring future stewardship.
Their direction and support was key to making this activity the success it was and included the selection, ordering, planning, & placement of our plants!
Special thanks to City staff Andre, Spencer, Jamie, and Ralph for their valued contributions in bringing this activity to life.
This was our final of 9 activities we’re organizing together this year!
Staff Who Made This Activity Possible
Our dedicated staff are passionate about community engagement and environmental action. Their work includes extensive outreach, activity logistics, social media, reporting on impacts, partnership building and MUCH more!
This activity was run by Ashton Kerr, Green Teams of Canada’s Director of Partnerships & Programs with support from Lyda Salatian, our Executive Director & Founder.
We Are All In This TOGETHER! The Future Depends on Us
The Lower Mainland Green Team is a program of the charity Green Teams of Canada, engaging communities in hands-on environmental action since 2011.
We bring people together to improve well-being and inspire environmental stewardship. Through activities like invasive plant removal, native species planting, and litter clean-ups, participants take practical action and see the impact they can make.
What sets us apart is our focus on people. Our activities are inclusive and accessible to all ages, abilities and experience levels, especially those new to environmental action. Many join for the first time, deepen their understanding of environmental issues and leave feeling capable and motivated to take future action.
We also strengthen and support the broader stewardship network by working with governmental agencies, non-profits, land trusts, volunteer-led groups, schools, and businesses, bringing new people into existing efforts and expanding their reach. Many participants go on to deepen their involvement, take on leadership roles, or contribute to other initiatives.
We believe lasting environmental change starts with people. By creating meaningful opportunities for people to take part, we help build more connected, resilient communities.
We can all make a difference!