Youth Activity! Invasive Species Removal at Murray Pond Park, Colwood, on June 7 2023
Group Photos!
Highlights
- 40 students, and 4 teachers from Royal Bay Secondary School, and 6 community members, joined us and contributed to 77 volunteer hours!
- Thank you so much for your hard work and for making this day amazing: Mr. McIntosh’s grade 11 class, Ms. Allen’s grade 9 class, Mr. Steadman’s grade 11 class, and Ms. Funk’s grade 9 class.
- Thank you to our lovely community members who joined us at this activity as well: Sarah, Corinne, Layanna, Izzie, Rachel, and David who helped remove invasive plants!
- Thank you to Layanna, Miss. Earth Canada 2023, for joining one of our sessions and inspiring and supporting the students to engage with nature in meaningful ways!
- Thank you to Izzie and Rachel from the Society for Ecological Restoration for coming out to work with the students and chat about Make A Difference Week and the Vancouver Island Decade on Restoration!
- 4.5 cubic metres of invasive species was removed!
- Species removed included Himalayan blackberry and Scotch Broom!
- An area of 200 metres squared had invasive plants removed from it and was revitalized thanks to the hard work of the Royal Bay Secondary School students 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!
Thank you to David Grove from the City of Colwood council for joining us to work alongside the students and community members and talk about the importance of this work!
Before & After Photos
On Wednesday June 7, 2023, the Greater Victoria Green Team and the City of Colwood partnered up to host a youth activity for Royal Bay Secondary School! Students, teachers, and community member volunteers spent a fun day removing invasive Scotch broom and Himalayan blackberry from Murray Pond 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 and inspire them to act in environmentally responsible ways!
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!