Surrey elementary students clear up invasive species at White Rock park
Published 12:30 pm Sunday, April 26, 2026
Green Teams Canada inspires the next generation of green thumbs.
More than 85 students from H.T. Thrift Elementary celebrated Earth Day by learning how to identify and remove invasive plants such as Himalayan Blackberry and English Ivy.
A release sent by the Lower Mainland Green Team says that the students removed 6.5 cubic meters (40 bathtubs) of blackberry and ivy from Ruth Johnson Park on April 21.
The education and weeding event was part of a collaboration between Green Teams Canada (GTC) Lower Mainland Green Team and the City of White Rock to mark the annual occasion.
“It was a lot of fun to tear up the Ivy vines to get them out of there!” said one grade 6 participant according to Green Teams Canada’s blog.
GTC said four classes were involved and that students were excited to get out of the classroom and learn about invasive species.
Students also learned which species to leave behind such as Salmonberry & Trailing Blackberry. Green Teams Canada said the species will begin to grow into the new space and help improve the surrounding environment.
“It is great to see the kids learning about these plants and getting hands-on to try doing something about them,” said one parent chaperone according to Green Teams Canada. “We have these in our own backyard so I’m learning too!”
This comes on the back of other community education events hosted by Green Teams Canada this spring. More than 150 participants have removed over 32.5 cubic metres (204 bathtubs) of invasive plants so far during two separate events according to GTC.
The Lower Mainland Green Team is part of the Canadian charity Green Teams Canada. It is dedicated to practical environmental action through community events designed to include all members of the community.
The team will be back in White Rock on Saturday, May 2 between 9:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. to continue removing invasive plants from the area. More information can be found here.
The Lower Mainland Green Team is hosting more events which can be found on its meetup page.