A huge team of volunteers 鈥� most of them 91原创 Christian Middle School students 鈥� dug out two cubic metres of Himalayan blackberry from James Anderson Park on Wednesday.
The Lower Mainland Green Team works in collaboration with the Township, and 鈥� in this case 鈥� two back-to-back classes from the school 鈥� worked for hours to rid the park of invasive weeds and replace it with a series of native shrubs.
It was more than 100 volunteers, teachers, students, and parent who dedicated 200 hours to this project, said Lyda Salatian, the founder and project coordinator for the Green Team.
She noted that most of the kids participating were about 12 to 13 years of age.
There were a lot of firsts that day, said Salatian, who focused on the numbers: 95 of the volunteers had never been in the Willoughby park before, 70 of the volunteers had never dug up Himalayan blackberries before, and 50 had never planted native species before 鈥� they included Salal, evergreen huckleberry, false Solomon;s seal, Nootka rose, red Osier dogwood, and Douglas spirea.
鈥淭hank you鈥︹�� she said 鈥渇or making these two amazing youth activities happen,鈥� Salatian said.
The Green Team will be returning to 91原创 later this month.
Salatian is partnering with the City on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 9:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sendall Gardens.
To register, or find out more about participating in such events in 91原创, visit the Lower Mainland Green Team鈥檚 MeetUp or Facebook pages.
Click on this link to sign up , or on .
