Youth Activity! Invasive Species Removal at Lagoon West Park, Colwood, on June 14 2023

Group Photos!

Highlights

• 81 students and 4 teachers from Dunsmuir Middle School and 4 community members joined us and contributed to 91 volunteer hours!
  • Thank you so much for your hard work and for making this day amazing: Ms. Knoke’s grade 8 class, Ms. Hartley’s grade 8 class, Ms. Arsenault’s grade 6 class, and Mr. Vavala’s grade 7 class.
  • Thank you to our lovely community members who joined us at this activity as well: Corinne, Layanna, Liz, and Deanna who helped remove invasive plants!
• 22.2 cubic metres of invasive species was removed!
  • Species removed included Himalayan blackberry and Scotch Broom!
• An area of 180 metres squared had invasive plants removed from it and was revitalized thanks to the hard work of the Dunsmuir Middle School students and teachers and our dedicated community members!

Thank you to the City of Colwood for partnering with us! Their support made this activity possible. Together, we are improving the health of local ecosystems and communities!

Before & After Photos

On Wednesday June 14, 2023, the Greater Victoria Green Team and the City of Colwood partnered up to host a youth activity for Dunsmuir Middle School! Students, teachers, and community member volunteers spent a fun day removing invasive Himalayan blackberry and Scotch broom from Lagoon West Park. Their efforts have helped revitalize the habitat in this local park, and the students learned a lot about invasive species, identifying different plants, and the importance of environmental stewardship.

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!

Special guest, Layanna Robinson, Miss Earth Canada 2023 joined us to help remove invasive plants and inspire the students!

A little healthy competition between the classes encouraged the students to build camaraderie and work together to reach new goals! We challenged the students to see who could get the biggest pile of plants and who could get the biggest root crown out of the ground. All the students worked hard and learned lots, making them all winners in our eyes!

Ms. Knoke’s class: 8.3 cubic meters

Ms. Arsenault’s class: 7.6 cubic meters

Mr. Vavala’s class: 3.7 cubic meters

Ms. Hartley’s class: 2.6 cubic meters

There were some great contenders for the biggest root crown, but Ms. Hartley’s class dug out the biggest one of the day!

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!