Highlights
- 34 community members of all ages participated and contributed 107 hours total
- 17 participants visited West Beach for the first time
- 21 participants removed invasive plant species for the first time
- Almost 10.5 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry was removed (equivalent to the volume of about 65 bathtubs!) including some MASSIVE root crowns, which require more effort to remove but take up less volume
- Some root crowns were estimated to weigh close to ~20-25 pounds!
- We found tools to build a sand castle: a small sand shovel and a large spoon
- We heard a crow repeatedly bark like a dog
- We received lots of support from passersby who cheered on the efforts of our Green Team
- One of our participants, Richard, runs an awesome blog about flowers called Flowerishness! He wrote a great post about Himalayan blackberry and our activity, so make sure you check it out HERE!
Action Shots
Summary
On Saturday October 9, 2021 the Lower Mainland Green Team teamed up with the City of White Rock to continue our efforts to remove invasive Himalayan blackberry from West Beach.
This was our third time at this location, with our first visit on May 29, 2021 and second on September 18, 2021.
Suited up with gloves, shovels and loppers, community members had a massive positive impact on this dune ecosystem by removing the stubborn and aggressive Himalayan blackberry plant. Himalayan blackberry can very quickly overtake ecosystems if left unchecked, so by removing this invasive plant we are creating room for other native plants grow, which increases biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Strengthening our ecosystems in ways like this will help the area better adapt to the effects of climate change.
Through continued efforts from the Lower Mainland Green Team and the City of White Rock, this dune ecosystem is set to be restored with native plants that mimic the ecosystem’s natural succession. Over time this will not only create a beautiful, healthy environment, but will also help stabilize these slopes along the beach.
This activity not only had a positive impact on the environment, but on the participants themselves. By being out in nature doing something positive as a team, our community members:
- Develop a sense of belonging to community and place
- Have improved mental and physical health
- Connect to nature, which leads to environmentally responsible behaviour
- Learn about local environmental issues and actions they can take
- Learn the value of bring together people to work towards a common goal
- Become leaders in their communities
- Increase confidence, resilience and perseverance
This activity followed the COVID-19 Safety Plan of our charity, Green Teams of Canada, and current province-wide restrictions with safety measures in place to ensure participants could connect with each other and nature safely.
Thank You!
Thank you to all of the hard-working and enthusiastic community members who attended this activity: Jennifer, Brian, Michael, Cheryl, Anne, Alexis, YiChing, Kelvin, Leah, Charlize, Yun, Sabrina, Angel, Richard, Jianate, Stephanie, Rena, Xia, Stephen, Sonya, Doug. Mario, Ina, Elsa, San Yu, Aaron, Ian, Angel, Ryan, Will, Jie and Martin!
A huge thank you to Cheryl, the mom of our Green Team organizer, Ashton! Cheryl is visiting from Calgary and was eager to lend a hand wherever she could.
Thank you also to Jennifer for sticking around after the activity to help sanitize tools to keep our community members safe!
Many thanks to Egan Davis, Manager of Parks at the City of White Rock, for partnering with our charity, Green Teams of Canada, to make this activity possible. Thank you for investing in your community and environment by supporting our valuable work!
Before and After Photos
(click images to make them bigger)
