Rare Opportunity for Local Stewards

August 11, 2010

Super Elite Task Force: Operation Port Coquitlam (Photo: Evergreen)

Last Thursday, a super elite team of Evergreen’s stewardship volunteers put in some of their evening time to help a federally red-listed species in Port Coquitlam – streambank lupine (Lupinis rivularis).

“This is the most work anyone has done for the plant,” said a thankful Species at Risk Recovery Team member, Dawn Hanna. Volunteers worked slowly and deliberately on the urban site, careful not to step on or disturb the lupines, of which there are only 300 known individuals in Canada.  Hopefully, by protecting this and other populations, that number will increase in years to come.

This is the first of three work parties to protect rare populations of streambank lupine this summer (there are only 8 known locations in Canada – all of which are found in the Lower Mainland)

For more information or to get involved in the project, contact Laura Smit, Stewardship Co-ordinator at lsmit@evergreen.ca or 604-689-0776

Comments Off | In the Field, Issues, Native Species, Stewardship and Planting, Vancouver | Permalink
Posted by Laura from Common Grounds Vancouver

Tansy and Tunes at Jericho Beach Park

August 9, 2010

Volunteers from Starbucks Canada enthusiastically pulling invasive tansy and blackberry. (Photo: Evergreen)

Serenaded by the likes of Les Boukakes and Shayne Koyczan at the Vancouver Folk Festival, a group of volunteers recently made a big impact on the ecological health of Jericho Beach Park. All employees of Starbucks Canada, these volunteers donated their sunny Saturday to steward this important green space. With guidance from me and other Evergreen staff they constructed a shed, removed six cubic meters of invasive plant material and rescued 50 tree saplings from being smothered by morning glory.

The group also contributed to a new, important project: an Early Detection and Rapid Response study site for invasive plants. One of our regular stewards spotted a recently introduced invasive plant in the park. By creating this study site we will be able to perform a series of tests and hope to eradicate the plant before it gets a chance to establish.

A big thank you goes out to Starbucks employees for their dedication and hard work. Want to help protect green space near you? Visit our event calendar and join in!

Comments Off | Events, In the Field, Stewardship and Planting, Vancouver, Volunteer | Permalink
Posted by Laura from Common Grounds Vancouver

The Intern Learns to Compost

August 5, 2010

Summer intern Max Nichols and the drum composter. (Photo: Evergreen)

A note from one of our summer interns, Max Nichols:

As one of Evergreen Vancouver’s summer students working inside the office, most of the requests that come my way are pretty straightforward: file this, sort those and write that. But no tasks proved anywhere near as complex as “can you figure out how to work the composter?”

Pardon? Last time I checked you put organic material in the top and get rich soil out of the bottom.

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2 Comments | Gardening, In the Field, Vancouver | Permalink
Posted by Allison from Evergreen British Columbia

Be a Certified Seed Collector

July 22, 2010

Protect biodiversity by collecting seeds. (Photo: Evergreen)

Save your spot in our Seed Collecting Certification workshop on August 26 and 27.  For more information, visit Evergreen’s online event calendar or download our flyer.

Johnny Appleseed, American folk legend, may have had the right idea in collecting and planting apple seeds all across the landscape.  Today, certified seed collectors assist in tracking seed availability for future planting use. Information about seed availability, location, type and quantity enables these trained individuals  to collect and store seed and helps ensure that the appropriate stock is available to meet long term demands. Whether plants are for community restoration, outdoor classrooms or you own native plant backyard oasis, using plants sourced from certified seed grown in a local nursery is a great start to any project.

1 Comment | Events, Gardening, Green Tips, In the Field, Issues, Native Species, Stewardship and Planting, Toronto | Permalink
Posted by Kim from Common Grounds

Still Creek Update

July 12, 2010

From dumping ground to urban habitat in 6 hours: Still Creek at 14th and Nootka Streets in Vancouver (Photos: Evergreen)

Think it takes a long time to make a difference? This summer a corporate volunteer group completely transformed a section of the Still Creek Corridor in less than 6 hours!

The Still Creek Watershed is one of the only creeks in Vancouver that isn’t completely diverted and covered by development, and many stakeholders, including the City of Vancouver, Metro Vancouver, stewardship groups and concerned neighbours are pitching in to protect it. In this case, Evergreen worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) who supported the project through volunteer work and by offsetting the costs of plants and materials.

Here is a breakdown of the day.  (Follow the pictures clockwise from the top left!)

10AM Removal begins! PWC volunteers tackle invasive Himalayan Blackberry and remove carelessly dumped garbage that has crowded this urban riparian zone and made it inaccessible to the community.

12PM We would have been happy to get through 6 cubic yards, but in less than two hours, 25 volunteers cleared more than 10 cubic yards of invasive plant material and garbage – all of which was generously taken away free of charge by NSD Disposal.

2PM Planting! In went more than 400 native plants, including Indian Plum, Red-Osier Dogwood, Sword Fern and Nootka Rose, all of which add much-needed biodiversity to the Still Creek corridor.

4PM The end of a transformative day: 25 volunteers, 6 hours of work, 10 cubic yards of material removed, 400 native species planted and a section of restored creekside – right in the middle of the city.

Join in the transformation! Find more information on the Still Creek Enhancement Plan and other restoration projects Evergreen is involved with in the Lower Mainland.

Comments Off | In the Field, Stewardship and Planting, Vancouver | Permalink
Posted by Laura from Common Grounds Vancouver

Environment is On Fire at UofT. Literally.

May 27, 2010

A prescribed burn in progress at UTM campus (Photo: Kim Sellers)

The environmental community is so hot at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) campus that it actually set the campus on fire!

Well, sort of.

On Sunday, April 18, UTM and Evergreen held a very exciting and very safe prescribed burn led by consultants Lands and Forests, as part of the Old Field Habitat Restoration Project.
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1 Comment | In the Field, Issues, Toronto | Permalink
Posted by Colin from Common Grounds

In the Field for Planet Releaf

April 29, 2010

Youth taking action today for the forests of tomorrow. (Photo: Evergreen)

A dispatch from Evergreen Common Grounds’ Caitlin Langois:

I was recently reminded that Canadians are stewards to 10% of the world’s forests. I still grapple with the great responsibility and immense gift this represents to us.

This important fact came up during a recent workshop during which I met the world renown Dr. Jane Goodall, heard her infamous chimp call, and witnessed 50 enthusiastic youth from the Jane Goodall Institue’s Roots and Shoots program come together for a day of learning about forest issues and how to take action today for the forests of tomorrow.

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Comments Off | In the Field, Issues, Stewardship and Planting, Toronto, Vancouver | Permalink
Posted by Colin from Common Grounds

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