Session 1: Group photo of Mr. Hazel’s Science 9 students and Mr. Steadman’s Science 11 students from Royal Bay Secondary School
Session 2: Group photo of Ms. Anderson‘s Science 11 students and Ms. Spencer Hills’ Science 10 students from Royal Bay Secondary School
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
- 84 science students, 4 teachers, and 3 teacher aides joined us to remove invasive plants and help improve the health of this park
- City of Colwood Councillor David Grove joined us to help educate and inspire the students!
- 94 hours contributed to habitat restoration
- 2.5 cubic metres (15.5 bathtubs full) of invasive Himalayan blackberry removed
- 100 square metres of habitat revitalized
- Countless smiles, laughter, and cheers of accomplishment were shared
Highlights
- Students from Royal Bay Secondary School braved the rain to take part in this ecological restoration activity and used their knowledge, skills, and determination to remove invasive species!
- It was a day filled with great teamwork and lots of fun exploring nature! Students found a garter snake, a snail, a grasshopper, and a lizard while removing invasive plants along the hillside.
- Students enjoyed participating in a hands-on outdoor activity, applying their practical knowledge in a hands-on setting!
- Students and passersby enjoyed the additional education and decorative designs provided by the plant signs, learning about identification in a fun, creative way!
- We have been to this site located behind Royal Bay Secondary School for many years and it’s great to see our hard work paying off with many areas cleared of invasive species and some of last year’s planted native species beginning to flourish!
- This site is especially important to Royal Bay Secondary students as it is located just behind their school, so their impacts are noticeable and meaningful as they walk past this area.
- It has been great to be able to engage students at this school on an annual basis, so they can see the progress as they return to the area year after year! We are so grateful for our long term partnership with the City of Colwood and our sponsorship from Gablecraft Homes for making these activities possible!
Community Investment Partner
THANK YOU to our sponsor, GableCraft Homes for providing funding for this activity!
Thank you for investing in this community to provide additional opportunities for students and residents to connect with the environment.
THANK YOU to the City of Colwood for providing direction, and ecological expertise to guide this activity!
Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.
THANK YOU to City of Colwood Councillor David Grove for joining this activity to help remove invasive plants and inspire the students!
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
Greater Victoria Green Team Program Manager, Kaitlin Warren and Partnerships Manager, Viloka Luna, 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!