The Greater Victoria Green Team is among the Go Wild Community Grant recipients – issued last week – for their programs to connect youth to nature and each other by restoring habitat. The local team scored some of the funding through the national charity, Green Teams of Canada.
“We are so excited to have received the WWF Go Wild Grant this year,” said Amanda Evans, Program Manager, Greater Victoria Green Team. “The funding will help cover the cost of running six Greater Victoria Green Team environmental education and ecological restoration activities for 150 youth and at-risk youth to take place in degraded ecosystems.”
Youth participate in activities to improve the overall health of the ecosystem, while getting outdoors and improving their own health.
“We plan to organize one of these activities right in Oak Bay and will connect with schools including Oak Bay High to engage local students,” Evans said.
The crew recently did work on the Brighton Walkway where 18 GV Green Team volunteers – hailing from Oak Bay, Victoria, Saanich, Langford, Esquimalt and Central Saanich – worked with a trio from the Friends of Brighton Walkway.
A great Sat. w/ #GVGreenTeam #volunteers at Brighton Walkway #OakBay! We removed invasive plants & made new friends! https://t.co/Rxo3kP2ZlX pic.twitter.com/HqVrUe7hZN
— GV Green Team (@GVGreenTeam) July 31, 2017
“We were able to remove approximately 16 cubic metres of invasive plants that included English Ivy, Spurge-laurel, English Laurel and Himalayan Blackberry,” Evans said. “We cleared out an entire section of the walkway and made a remarkable difference in the short three hours that we were there.”
A well-used walkway is a part of the Oak Bay Centennial Trail and runs from Foul Bay to Transit.
“While we worked we were greeted by local passerby’s who were either out for a stroll or walking their dog. Many of them asked what we were doing and were thankful for our work. We were able to share with them the history of the project and information about the hard work of the Friends of Brighton group - as some of them commented that they enjoyed the beauty of the site and had no idea of the amount of work by the community involved in making the walkway so beautiful,” Evans said.
Two Sundays a month, Carol Davies is among the Friends of Brighton Walkway to dig their hands into the soil adjacent to a path.
After working with the GV Green Team she felt compelled to drop them a line praising the program.
“Just a little note to thank you so very much for coming to the Brighton Walkway again with the Green Team. Such an interesting mix of people, and we accomplished so much. And I must thank you for your continued support of so many volunteer restoration projects in Greater Victoria. It has made such a difference to our small group, and I wish you continued success for the coming year.”
The Go Wild Community Grants program, presented by TELUS, helps Canadians connect more deeply with nature and benefit wildlife with grants of $1,000 to $7,000.
Another 2017 Go Wild Community Grant project on Vancouver Island is the Rainforest Conservation Foundation. The project will connect First Nation and at-risk youth with the unique wildlife and ecosystems of the Salish Sea – from rainforest and intertidal zones to salmon streams and critical killer whale habitat – onboard a 68-foot vessel.
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