Thank you to everyone who participated in our World Rivers Day invasive plant removal!
Ace, Andrea, Andrew, Andy, Ange Anjali, Athena, August, Boye, Catarina, Cleo, Connie, Daniel, Dave, Edward, Eli, Emily, Harry Y., Harry P., Jayanand, Jennifer, Jerry, Jim, Joshua, Kathy, Kurtis, Kushal, LeAnne, Linyike, Luca, Mark W., Mark Z., Meiyang Y., Naveen, Nikki, Nobu, Penny, Shuntian, Steve, Tina, Trevor, Yankai, Zez, & the 1st Burnaby Southwest Cub Scouts!
We gathered to celebrate World Rivers Day by building community and removing invasive plants to help protect this vital urban salmon spawning habitat!
Read more about our day below!
Impacts
- 60 community members were engaged
- 46 participants visited the Byrne Creek Ravine for the first time
- 40 participants removed invasive plants for the first time
- 46 participants visited the Byrne Creek Ravine for the first time
- 158 hours were contributed towards restoring local habitat
- 13.5 cubic metres (84 bathtubs!) of invasive English Ivy and Himalayan Blackberry was removed
- 240 square metres of habitat was revitalized!
- At least 8 trees were freed from invasive ivy by clearing it from around their base!
- Community members joined us from across the Lower Mainland including from Burnaby itself, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Surrey, Port Coquitlam, Vancouver, and Maple Ridge!
- 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
Highlights
- This was the first of two World Rivers Day activities we’re partnering with the City of Burnaby’s Planning Department for this year!
- We worked with the amazing Byrne Creek Streamkeepers, who brought wonderful educational materials for people to learn about the watershed and the work of their group! We look forward to continuing our work together on Nov. 1st at Ron McLean Park nearby!
- Special thank you to Joan for all of her work to help choose this site and organize this activity!
- Our efforts focused on removing English Ivy along this area near the creek which is active urban salmon spawning habitat each year! Learn more about the Byrne Creek, its watershed, & the salmon on their website here!
- The Streamkeepers had last been able to affect this patch of Ivy some 10 years earlier and shared a picture from that event! We were joined by some of the Streamkeepers who had been there then who were excited to see work continuing here!
- We also removed invasive Himalayan Blackberry along the trailhead leading into the Ravine!
- Several people who attended today connected with the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers and are likely to join this group doing amazing work in this watershed!
- In a small world moment, one of our participants realized they were from the same community in India as another family attending!
- Thank you to Tailor of Hope, a student-led non-profit based in Vancouver that empowers youth through community service who brought a group to join us in the Ravine today!
- A thanks to Jen, Mark, and each of the 1st Southwest Burnaby Cub Scouts for coming out to learn about invasive plants and make a great impact! We even had 4 parents see the great time they were having and jump in to participate in the activity when they came to pickup their kids!
- The cubs also found 11 small invasive English Holly plants we were able to remove to prevent the spread of this plant in the ravine!
- A beautiful Great Blue Heron was visiting the creek before the activity and flew over us during the day too!
- All ages, backgrounds, abilities & experience levels came out including families, students, working professionals, retirees, first timers, & returning LMGTers!
- One of our volunteers found and removed this massive length of Ivy!
- We refuelled with yummy snacks during our break including mandarin oranges, fresh carrots & cucumbers with spinach dip, churro chickpea puffs, caramel & cheddar kettle corn, and more!
- Special thank you to Steve & Eli for arriving early to set up, and to both them and Andrew & Ace who helped the packing up of our tools & supplies at the end of the day!
What Community Members Said
Video of Trevor & Cleo, talking about why they came out to join us, the difference they made, and the tasty snacks!
Video of Naveen, talking about the great time they had meeting new people, pulling invasive species for the first time, and spending time outside!
Community Investment Partner
THANK YOU to the City of Burnaby’s Planning Department for being a Community Investment Partner and providing the financial support and direction to make this activity, part of the City’s World Rivers Day Celebrations, possible!
A big thank you to Hafsa for her essential role in bringing this activity together!
Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.
Collaborator
THANK YOU to Joan, Yumi, Jane, and Rob from the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers Society for sharing their time, passion and knowledge to work alongside us for this activity!
The Byrne Creek Streamkeepers have been active for over 30 years. Their volunteers monitor the health of this urban stream and conduct streamkeeping activities. They lead educational tours for kids and adults, promote healthy watersheds at community events, and remove invasive plant species.
Join the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers Facebook Group to help care for the Byrne Creek watershed or learn more on their website.
This group is in need of people who are eager to lead and organize others! Get involved now to help them continue their important work!
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!
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, and litter clean-ups, 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 behavior 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!
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!
Max Muehlen, our Lower Mainland Green Team’s Program Manager, and Simryn Dhensaw, our new Lower Mainland Green Team Program Assistant, led this activity together!
Ashton Kerr, the Lower Mainland Green Team’s Partnerships Manager, supported this activity behind the scenes.