TD Tree Days Native Species Planting & Invasive Ivy Removal at Dickson Woods, North Saanich

October 17, 2026

This activity was co-hosted by TD and the Greater Victoria Green Team, with support from the Victoria Airport Authority

Thank you to all of the TD staff and community members who joined us!

Alex, Alexis, Andrew H., Andrew Z., Derry, Avery, Bruce, Camila, Charles, Dana, Deepak, Eric, Gerald, Ihor, Jaimie, Jarod, Jeff, Jeremy, Kanwar, Keira, Kenneth, Michelle, Natasha, Nav, Nelson, Nyleigh, Owen, Peter, Rafael, Ray, Sam, Shaun, Shayne, Jeremy, & Danielle

Community Impacts

35 community members were engaged, contributing 102 hrs to environmental action!

88% visited Dickson Woods for the first time
50% planted for the first time

21 participants completed a survey, and results showed:

90% felt inspired to take future environmental action
100% felt a sense of belonging & connection to others
90% felt their well-being improved
- 90% said time spent in nature contributed
- 86% said helping the environment contributed
95% increased their understanding of environmental issues
100% gained practical knowledge (e.g. about invasive and native species, and why removing invasive plants is important)
95% developed new skills (e.g. teamwork, and hands-on environmental skills)

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

455 native trees & shrubs planted including Douglas fir, Western red cedar, Western hemlock, Bigleaf Maple, Western red cedar, Western hemlock, Douglas fir, Sword Ferns, Salal, Salmonberry, June plum (Osoberry), Red Elderberry, Black Twinberry, Oregon Grape and Snowberry!
3 cubic metres of mulch moved and spread around new plants
7.5 cubic metres of invasive English ivy were removed (equivalent to the volume of 46 bathtubs!)
722 square metres of habitat revitalized!

Highlights

Community members joined us from across Greater Victoria including from North Saanich, Central Saanich, Saanich, Oak Bay, Victoria, View Royal, Esquimalt, Langford, Sooke & North Vancouver!
- 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.
Mother Nature gave us a helping hand with some early morning rain, giving our new plants the perfect place to put down their roots.
Jarod joined us all the way from North Vancouver for this morning of planting!
Charles stayed right until the very end to make sure every plant was in the ground and proudly planted the very last of our Bigleaf Maples!
We made sure every last plant was tucked in with a cozy layer of mulch! Mulch helps retain soil moisture, & regulate soil temperature, giving our newly planted trees and shrubs a better chance to thrive.
We saw returning community members invite friends who had never planted before!
In one area of the forest, we removed invasive ivy and re-planted it with native species all in 3 hours. These folks were able to experience full-circle restoration in a short period of time, which was fulfilling!
Our TD Site Leaders, Jeremy & Danielle, helped lead this TD Tree Days event & did an awesome job getting the word out to local employees, welcoming people, & helping us set up and motivate everyone!
Many delicious snacks were enjoyed during our snack break, including homemade vegan brownies made by Ashton, struedels, strawberry marshmallows, grapes, apples, bananas, oranges, juice, sparkling water, fruit snacks, a variety of granola bars & more!
Taylor, VAA’s Environmental Technician, joined us and supported this event by coordinating the selection, ordering & transporting of all native plants into this urban forest!
Streamside Native Plants & Satinflower Nurseries provided all of the native plants for this planting activity!
Special thank you to:
- The many amazing people who stayed a bit late to help us plant the final trees & shrubs!
- Alex for supporting setting up snacks!
- Andrew H., for helping carry the banners!
- EVERYONE for showing up to have an impact and pack up tools!

People of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and experience levels came out including students, working professionals, retirees, first timers, returning GVGTers and newcomers!
We’ve been working at Dickson Woods since fall 2025! Check out past activities below:

What Community Members Said

15 participants shared what this activity meant to them:

"It was a great sense of community and a proud feeling to be apart of something so close to home. Learning more and new things about the local area and also invasive species."

"It was so awesome to see the positive impact a group of people can have on our environment! I feel so inspired 🙂 Thank you for hosting such a wonderful event!"

"Working with so many other people was awesome!! Planting and pulling was a nice break from indoors"

"It was amazing to see what an impact on the environment a group of people can make together."

"Improving our community and being able to experience a different side of it."

"That I know my actions will impact not me but also the future generation of people who will continue to live on Vancouver island"

"It's always a great experience with the green team and helping our community/environment."

"Helping environment is helping us"

"Always feels good, appreciate community partnerships that make this happen"

"It meant a lot working with people who had the same goals as me."

"Learning how to plant : ) helped me understand how it works"

"i love environment, and take care of it"

"Very rewarding to be able to make an impact. |What would be amazing, if you dont do this already, is have a gallery of before and after. As well as the changes over time."

"A lot"

Video of Gerald, speaking about seeing what we can contribute in our communities and the feeling being capable of having a green thumb!

Video of Deepak, speaking about the sense of community of people getting together to plant and learning about local and invasive species!

Video of Jeremy, our TD Site Leader, speaking about how he loves helping the community and getting outside every year with our team & TD Tree Days!

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 Leaders Jeremy and Danielle!

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 & Support

Thank you to the Victoria Airport Authority (VAA) our Community Investment Partner, for making our work at Dickson Woods possible.

VAA 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 VAA staff Taylor for her valued contributions in bringing this activity to life.

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 Greater Victoria Green Team Program Managers Chevy Alexander and Ashley Bell, as well as Ashton Kerr, our Director of Partnerships & Programs.

We Are All In This TOGETHER! The Future Depends on Us

The Greater Victoria Green Team is a program of the charity Green Teams of Canada, engaging communities in hands-on environmental action since 2014.

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!