Park love: how you can lend nature a helping hand

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      (This story is presented by Metro Vancouver.)

      Metro Vancouver’s 22 regional parks are important places to connect with nature and get away from the pressures of city life. They also provide critical wildlife habitat and ecosystems, which clean the air and help to control temperatures. So it’s crucial that Metro Vancouver staff, community partners, and volunteers invest their time and effort to help maintain and restore the health and beauty of these green spaces.

      Brian Titaro is a natural resource management technician for Metro Vancouver Regional Parks and his job is to assist in the protection of park habitat through ecological restoration and wildlife monitoring.

      “Regional parks are natural capital assets to all residents of Metro Vancouver,” he says. “These are public spaces and they provide a whole variety of functions—from hosting and conserving biodiversity to ecosystems functions, like flood and air-quality control.”

      Much of Titaro’s focus is working with community partners and volunteers on applied-biology initiatives.

      “Engaging people in regional parks, especially through hands-on stewardship or volunteer projects, really helps to deepen people’s personal connection to these special places,” he says.

      The 13,557 hectares of natural habitat managed by Metro Vancouver Regional Parks is larger than the City of Vancouver’s total area, so there’s plenty of work to be done and there is always a need for volunteers. Titaro believes that once people understand the value in regional parks, they are then more inclined to appreciate them and make an active effort to maintain and restore them. 

      “A lot of times when you’re working with the general public, they obviously have a keen interest—which is why they’ve signed up for some of these programs already—but it’s really about driving home to them the type of positive impact they can make by volunteering their time,” he says.

      There are a number of projects and events taking place across the region, which involve a variety of key tasks from planting native trees and shrubs to the removal of invasive species. The easiest way to get involved is to join the Metro Vancouver ecological restoration team Meetup group, where those interested can find the latest stewardship volunteer opportunities.

      One of the biggest events of the year is the upcoming EcoBlitz, which takes place every October and is a weeklong, region-wide push to get as many people out from the community to help with important projects.

      Now in its sixth year, Ecoblitz is timed so that any newly planted vegetation can establish itself over the wetter fall and winter months and deal with the warm summers that follow.

      “The event is really focused on the fact that we want these plants to survive,” Titaro explains. “If people and volunteers are going to put the time and effort into doing this work, we want to give the plants the best chance that we can.”

      EcoBlitz is a hands-on event, but there is no experience required and everyone is welcome to get involved. In the past, Titaro has seen a huge spectrum of participants, from members of the general public to students majoring in environmental science.

      This year, organizers anticipate around 500 volunteers, who will help to get at least 5,000 native plants in the ground, while removing many of the invasive species in the process.

      Although the focus is similar every year, Titaro stresses that the specifics of the projects will vary based on the work required.

      “The way we design our whole program is that we’re trying to find volunteers for the projects that we have,” he says. “We don’t want make-work projects. We have important work that needs to be done and it’s all about finding the right groups to help us do it.”

      Volunteers have the opportunity to get outdoors, meet new people, and enjoy the satisfaction of helping improve local wildlife habitat. In turn, the regional parks and the ecosystems that they support, get healthier.

      “The event helps create an environmental consciousness in these people and to engage society,” Titaro says. “It really helps show them that they can have a direct positive benefit in the natural environment by giving nature a helping hand.”

      EcoBlitz takes place from October 19 to October 27 at parks across the region. For more information, the full schedule of Metro Vancouver Regional Parks programs, and events, visit the website or go to the Metro Vancouver ecological restoration team Meetup group to volunteer your time to a project near you. Follow this series to discover more about Metro Vancouver’s regional parks.