West Beach, White Rock – May 14, 2022
West Beach, White Rock – May 14, 2022 Highlights 29 community members participated and contributed 88 hours total 6 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry was removed (equivalent to the volume of about 38 bathtubs), including many stubborn, massive roots. Blackberry roots require lots of effort to remove and don’t take up much volume, but removing the roots significantly reduces the chances of plant regrowth. Be sure to check out the before and after photos at the bottom of the page! 14 participants visited West Beach for the first time 10 participants removed invasive plants for the first time We were featured in the Peace Arch News TWICE for this activity! CLICK HERE to read the first article (May 12) and CLICK HERE read the second article (May 16)! On Saturday May 14, 2022 the Lower Mainland Green Team and the City of White Rock joined forces to engage community
Fort-to-Fort Trail, Langley – May 13, 2022
Fort-to-Fort Trail, Langley – May 13, 2022 Group 1 Group 2 Highlights 60 students from Walnut Grove Secondary School’s EDGE Program participated and contributed 91 hours total The students biked from their school to this activity at the Fort-to-Fort Trail (near Bedford Plaza)! Almost 11 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry was removed (equivalent to the volume of about 68 bathtubs!). Most of our work focused on removing stubborn root crowns (we removed MANY), which require more effort to remove but take up less volume This was not the first time these students visited the Fort-to-Fort Trail, as they all went for a bike ride along the trail weeks earlier! 43 students removed invasive plants for the first time This activity received media coverage from the Aldergrove Star – CLICK HERE to read the article! See before and after photos at the bottom of this post! On Friday May 13,
R.E. Mountain Secondary School, Langley – May 3, 2022
Highlights 204 students from R.E. Mountain Secondary School participated in this activity to elevate the outdoor space at their school. They contributed a total of 204 hours! 10 classes of grades 9-12 students were engaged over 4 sessions 5 garden beds were created, be sure to check out the before and after photos at the bottom of the page! 150 plants were planted in the new garden beds 2 existing garden beds were weeded 1 path was created through a wooded area for students to enjoy and connect with nature on school property. Be sure to check out the before and after photos at the bottom of the page! A nature scavenger hunt was completed at the start of each session to get the students oriented with the natural area Summary On Tuesday May 3, 2022 the Lower Mainland Green Team and R.E. Mountain Secondary School joined forces to engage
Terra Nova Rural Park, Richmond – April 23, 2022
Highlights 38 community members participated and contributed 118 hours total 6 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry was removed (equivalent to the volume of about 38 bathtubs!), with roots making up the majority of what was removed. These stubborn roots require more effort to remove and take up less volume, but significantly reduce the chances for regrowth! Be sure to check out the before and after photos at the bottom of the page. 10 participants visited Terra Nova Rural Park for the first time 18 participants removed invasive plants for the first time 32 participants were Richmond residents On Saturday April 23, 2022 the Lower Mainland Green Team and the City of Richmond joined forces to celebrate Earth Week by engaging community members in an invasive Himalayan blackberry removal at Terra Nova Rural Park in Richmond. It was a beautiful sunny day for the 38 committed community members of all
Ruth Johnson Park, White Rock – April 22, 2022
Highlights 76 local students participated and contributed 150 hours total 29 participants visited Ruth Johnson Park for the first time 61 participants removed invasive plants for the first time 14 cubic metres of invasive English ivy and English holly was removed (equivalent to the volume of about 88 bathtubs!)! Check out before and after photos at the bottom of this post. We received media coverage by the Peace Arch News TWICE! The first article was during the article HERE, and second after the activity HERE. Action Shots Summary On Friday April 22, 2022 the Lower Mainland Green Team joined forces with the City of White Rock to engage local youth in an invasive plant removal at Ruth Johnson Park in celebration of Earth Day. 47 grade 5/6 students from H.T. Thrift Elementary and 28 grade 6/7 students from White Rock Elementary walked from their schools to Ruth Johnson Park to
Terra Nova Rural Park, Richmond – April 17, 2022
Highlights 41 community members participated and contributed 128 hours total 8 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry was removed (equivalent to the volume of about 50 bathtubs!), including many stubborn roots which require more effort to remove but take up less volume. By removing the roots, we significantly reduce the chances for the regrowth. Be sure to check out the before and after photos at the bottom of the page! 20 participants visited Terra Nova Rural Park for the first time 25 participants removed invasive plants for the first time 33 participants were Richmond residents On Sunday April 17, 2022 the Lower Mainland Green Team and the City of Richmond partnered up to celebrate Earth Week by engaging community members in an invasive Himalayan blackberry removal at Terra Nova Rural Park in Richmond. It was a sunny Sunday for the 41 committed community members of all ages, backgrounds and experience
Rochester Park, Coquitlam – April 3, 2022
Highlights 33 community members participated and contributed 103 hours total Over 14 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry was removed (equivalent to the volume of about 91 bathtubs!). The before and after photos are incredible, make sure to scroll down to see them! 32 participants visited Rochester Park for the first time 17 participants removed invasive plants for the first time On Sunday April 3, 2022 the Lower Mainland Green Team and the City of Coquitlam partnered up to engage community members in an invasive Himalayan blackberry and English ivy removal at Rochester Park in Coquitlam. Despite a rainy forecast, 33 committed community members of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels came out to restore this natural area and were enthusiastic even when the rain started coming down. We were blown away at how much was accomplished in a short period of time, which goes to show the strength of
Fort-to-Fort Trail, Langley – March 3, 2022
Group 1 (Grade 6) Group 2 (Grade 6/7) Group 3 (Grade 11/12) Highlights 100 students from the Langley School District participated and contributed 138 hours total Over 6 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry was removed (equivalent to the volume of about 39 bathtubs!). Most of our work focused on removing stubborn root crowns (we removed MANY), which require more effort to remove but take up less volume 23 students visited the Fort-to-Fort Trail for the first time 64 students removed invasive plants for the first time This activity was featured in the Langley Advance Times HERE See before and after photos at the bottom of this post! On Thursday March 3, 2022 the Lower Mainland Green Team and the Township of Langley joined forces to engage local youth in an invasive Himalayan blackberry removal at the Fort-to-Fort Trail. 83 students from Yorkson Creek Middle School and 17 students from
Fort-to-Fort Trail, Langley – December 10, 2021
Highlights 49 grade 6/7 students from the Fort Langley Elementary School participated and contributed 98 hours total Over 3 cubic metres of invasive Himalayan blackberry was removed (equivalent to the volume of almost 20 bathtubs!), including dozens of stubborn root crowns which require more effort to remove but take up less volume 3 students visited the Fort-to-Fort Trail for the first time 13 students removed invasive plants for the first time The Langley Advance Times came out to take photos and highlight the hard work of these local youth! On Friday December 10, 2021 the Lower Mainland Green Team partnered up with the Township of Langley to engage local youth in an invasive Himalayan blackberry removal at the Fort-to-Fort Trail. 49 students walked from the Fort Langley Elementary School to the Fort-to-Fort Trail on this brisk and wet December day to rescue native plants being overtaken by blackberry and improve
Rocky Point Park, Port Moody – November 20, 2021
Highlights 37 community members participated and contributed 122 hours total 17 participants visited Rocky Point Park for the first time 21 participants removed invasive plant species for the first time Over 8 cubic metres of invasive English Ivy and Himalayan blackberry was removed (equivalent to the volume of about 50 bathtubs!), including stubborn blackberry root crowns which take more time to remove but take up less volume Most participants came from Port Moody and the Tri-Cities, but we also had community members come from Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey and Langley! One participant, Michael, rode his bike from Burnaby – wow! We were able to enjoy this beautiful shoreline view of the Burrard Inlet! Yummy refreshments were had by all during our break, including hot chocolate and coffee! We found a number of items that don’t belong in our ecosystems including a tire, tennis balls and what appears