Youth Activity! Invasive Blackberry Removal – Aldersmith Park, View Royal

Thank you so much Mr. Rutherford all of your grade 5 students for your hard work and enthusiasm!

 

Thank you so much Ms. Brain and all of your grade 4 students for your hard work and enthusiasm!

 

What a fun day we had connecting people to one another and nature, all while restoring habitat! Keep on reading to find impacts, highlights and more from the day…

Impacts

  • 50 students, 4 teachers, and 1 community member volunteer engaged
  • 78 hours contributed to habitat restoration
  • 5 cubic metres (about 31 bathtubs full) of invasive Himalayan blackberry removed
  •  114 square metres of habitat revitalized
  • Countless smiles, cheers, and feelings of accomplishment were shared between the students as they worked together to improve the health of the park right behind their school. 

Highlights

  • We collaborated with Eagle View Elementary School to bring the students out to the park behind their school for some hands-on restoration education! 
  • We were excited to return to this park as we had a great activity here last year in March! Check out the summary here.
  • We were joined by one student’s grandmother who spent time helping the students remove those big invasive plants! 
  • Habitat restoration is a very satisfying and lots of fun! The students enjoyed the activity so much that they were reluctant to leave and were very interested in when they would have the opportunity to return!
  • We were joined by Town of View Royal councillor Don Brown who shared some words of inspiration with the students! Thank you so much for your support, councillor! 
  • Students enjoyed the additional education provided by our plant signs, learning about identification in a fun, creative way!
  • The students were amazed by the accomplishment they made together as a team and shared very positive feelings throughout the activity. 

Community Investment Partner

A huge THANK YOU to the Town of View Royal for partnering with our charity, Green Teams of Canada, and making this activity possible with their financial support and direction!

Thank you to Chris, View Royal’s Habitat Restoration Volunteer Coordinator, for helping facilitate this activity!

Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.

Thank you to the Town of View Royal councillor Don Brown who joined us for the first session to share some inspiring words with the students. 

We are so grateful for the wonderful, supportive partnership we have with the Town, both with staff and elected officials. Thank you to everyone who supports the continuation of this long-term successful partnership! 

Why We Do This Work

The Greater Victoria Green Team organizes hands-on educational activities that have a positive environmental impact to empower people. Through activities such as invasive plant removals, plantings, litter cleanups and more, we are fostering connections with others and nature so that health and well-being is prioritized, lifelong environmental stewardship is promoted, and community members are enabled to take care of themselves, each other and the places they live. We all have the power to make a difference!

We all experience mental and physical health benefits from spending time in nature, including reduced stress and anxiety, and improved mood, focus, memory and more. While doing so, we can also have a positive impact on the environment as demonstrated through this activity!

Staff Who Made This Activity Possible

Viloka setting up gloves for the students

This activity was run by Viloka! 

Greater Victoria Green Team Partnerships Manager, Viloka Luna and Program Manager, Kaitlin Warren both work hard behind the scenes to bring these high-quality activities to you.

Partnership building, outreach, social media, activity logistics, leading on-the-ground, reporting on impacts and more – they can do it all!

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