It was a busy Earth Day weekend in Colwood for the Greater Victoria Green Team.
Following two days of invasive species removal work involving more than two dozen volunteers, the Green Team was presented with an environmental stewardship award by the Citizen’s Environment Network in Colwood.
The work began on Saturday (April 20) at Murray’s Pond Park, where the Green Team worked with 26 community members to remove 11.5 cubic metres of Himalayan blackberry and Scotch broom — enough to fill 72 bathtubs. This revitalized an area of about 280 square metres, according to a news release from the group.
This was sponsored by local developer Gablecraft Homes, and the City of Colwood provided ecological expertise to guide the work.
The next day, the Green Team hit the Colwood Creek Park, focusing on an area the group has worked on in the past to remove Himalayan blackberry.
There was some more of that work to do, but it was also time to plant native species in the cleared areas.
Red alder, snowberry, salmonberry, Oregon grape, red osier dogwood and flowering red current are some of the 170 native trees and shrubs planted that day.
The Green Team has been working with Colwood for 11 years, and work has included 20 habitat restoration activities.
This coming weekend the Green Team has a litter cleanup planned in downtown Langford on Saturday (April 27) and invasive species removal at the University of Victoria on Sunday.
Event details for those who want to participate can be found at meetup.com.
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