Terra Nova Park April 17, 2021

April 20, 2021

On Saturday April 17th, 2021 the Lower Mainland Green Team and the City of Richmond joined forces to celebrate Earth Week 2021 and remove invasive Himalayan blackberry from Terra Nova Park in Richmond! We had beautiful summer-like weather with nothing but sunshine and warmth to make for a fantastic opportunity to get outside and connect to nature. Community members of all ages and experience levels came out to this local park to learn about the increasing threat of invasive species with climate change and how they can take action. The Himalayan blackberry didn’t stand a chance against these volunteers, who persisted and removed dozens of root crowns to prevent regrowth. It was rewarding to come back to this site after our activity in November 2020 to continue our collaborative restoration efforts. Following the current COVID-19 restrictions, this activity had three sessions engaging up to 9 people in each session and implemented the safety measures outlined in our COVID-19 Safety Plan.

Thank You!

Thank you to all of the hard-working and enthusiastic community members we had out: Yvonne, Frank, Francis, Blair, Jeffrey, Steven, Ryan, Shu, Erzsi, Ashley, Sophie R, Xander, Peton, Cade, Sophie T, Boris, Brendan, Gulmira and the kind gentleman who was walking by and hopped in during the second session!

A huge thank you to Magnus Sinclair from the City of Richmond for being our partner and making this opportunity possible! We are excited to be a part of the City of Richmond’s Earth Week 2021 celebration and look forward to our future activities, including one next Saturday April 24th, 2021 at the same location!

Photos from the first session can be found HERE, second session HERE, and third session HERE!

First Session Group Photo

Second Session Group Photo

Third Session Group Photo

Highlights

In total 19 LMGT volunteers participated and contributed 25 hours total
2 cubic metres of Himalayan blackberry was removed, including dozens of stubborn root crowns!
5 volunteers visited Terra Nova Park for the first time
16 volunteers removed invasive Himalayan blackberry for the first time
Worms, slugs, and other fun bugs were discovered in the soil
Volunteers took home a gift from one of our in-kind sponsors who donated their products to our community: EarthRated dog poop bags, lip chap from Green Beaver, soap from Eartheasy, and West Coast Seeds
We were featured in the Richmond News! Click HERE to read the article.

What Volunteers Said

“I enjoyed working hard and pulling the roots out of the ground! There were clear directions to the location, snacks and refreshments, as well as appropriate tools!” – Ashley

“Got outside in some great weather, got some exercise, helped out in my community, maintained social distance. The contribution of a single person seems small, but with many volunteers and several sessions I expect a lot will be accomplished. In times of tension, it’s good to work towards a shared goal.” – Blair

“I enjoyed socializing and the accomplishment of removing roots!“ – Cade

“The impact that I found to be at the core of this program is to really help people understand what the green team is about. There is a shared sense of community where people are willing to come together and understand the problems revolving around our environment on which the land does not belong to us. The acknowledgement that because we are a part of our beautiful ecosystem, we such learn more about it.” – Sophie