Youth Activity! Invasive Species Removal at Cedar Hill Middle School on June 21 2023
Group Photos!
Highlights
- Over 300 students and 15 teachers from Cedar Hill Middle School and joined us and contributed to more than 500 volunteer hours!
- Thank you so much for your hard work and for making this day amazing: Tasha Henry and Maryanne Trofimuk , and all of the participating teachers and students at Cedar Hill Middle School! Thank you to the Parent Advisory Committee of Cedar Hill Middle School for helping out with this great big activity day!
- Thank you to our lovely community members who joined us at this activity as well: Ken and Susan who helped remove invasive plants!
- 12 cubic metres of invasive species was removed!
- Species removed included English ivy!
- An area of 240 metres squared had invasive plants removed from it and was revitalized thanks to the hard work of the Cedar Hill Middle School students and teachers and our dedicated community members!
Before & After Photos
On Wednesday June 21, 2023, the Greater Victoria Green Team and Cedar Hill Middle School partnered up to host a youth activity for the students as part of their recognition of National Indigenous Peoples Day! Students, teachers, and community member volunteers spent a fun day removing invasive English ivy from the school grounds. Their efforts have helped revitalize the habitat in this local green space, and the students learned a lot about invasive species, identifying different plants, and the importance of environmental stewardship.
The students participated in many different workshops throughout the day, one of which was lead by the Greater Victoria Green Team focusing on taking care of the land. The school’s focus was to follow the First Peoples Principles of Learning to provide meaningful experiential education. The first principle emphasizes the importance of taking care of the self and relatives including the land. We focused on taking care of the land by pulling out the invasive plants that are smothering trees and native shrubs and flowers in this small elm forest on school grounds. By removing the invasive plants we are helping to create space for the native plants to thrive in this area. The removal of invasive plants is great physical exercise and is a really fun way to work as a team towards a common goal.
Learn more about National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada.
Learn more about the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada
By learning about environmental issues such as those caused by invasive species in a hands-on way, communities are better equipped to tackle such problems. Additionally, participating students gained new skills and were able to experience the benefits of being out in nature including reduced levels of stress and anxiety, and improved mood, memory, focus and mental clarity. Not to mention the great physical exercise everyone got while restoring the area! By connecting people to nature, we help instil responsible environmental behaviour that extends beyond our activities.
Community in Action!
So much great restoration work; seeing the impact they can have helps to empower the students to act in environmentally responsible ways!
Amazing work done by all of the students, teachers, and community members here today! Thank you for contributing to making a positive impact on our environment!
This activity was led by the Greater Victoria Green Team‘s Program Manager, Kaitlin, and Program Coordinator, Severine!
Severine was hired as part of Green Teams of Canada‘s Youth Leadership Program, and is gaining hands-on experience organizing and leading communities, in addition to helping strengthen and build our organization!