A trio of non-profit groups are celebrating the work of their volunteers and joining forces to recruit new help, including those who happen to be mothers.
The Land Conservancy, the Greater Victoria Green Team and LifeCycles Project Society, as well as the Town of View Royal, are hosting a Mother’s Day barbecue on Sunday at the Rex Welland Legacy Park and Community Orchard at 1215 Stancil Lane.
“It’s going to be a bit of a season kickoff for the three non-profit groups that are joining forces,” said Torrey Archer, covenant co-ordinator for TLC. “We’re hoping to get people together to meet and get to know about the different organizations.”
For The Land Conservancy, this marks the beginning of its monitoring program for environmentally protective covenants held on properties around the region.
The Green Team gathers volunteers to work on various parks projects in the CRD, such as invasive species removal. And LifeCycles has pioneered the use of community fruit trees by those who don’t have access to fresh produce and those for whom store-bought fruit may be unaffordable.
Sunday’s event, which runs from 1 to 4 p.m., is also a chance for LifeCycles to celebrate its selection as recipient of a $12,500 TD Green Streets grant for the park and orchard as an urban forestry initiative. LifeCycles, partnering on the project with the Town of View Royal, was one of 13 successful applicants in a field of more than 140 from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation and Tree Canada.
“The Welland Legacy Park is an incredible local resource for community and backyard-scale fruit growing in our region,” said Maurita Prato, LifeCycles executive director. “(It’s) completely unique in Canada in terms of the diversity and quantity of established fruit trees in a public space.”
Other aspects of the day include an orchard tour at 1 p.m., a performance by local musical group Chikoro Marimba at 2 p.m., and a kids’ activity table to be available throughout.
Visitors are encouraged to cycle to the event, as the orchard can be accessed right off the Galloping Goose Trail near View Royal’s eastern border with Saanich.
If driving to the event, people are asked to park at the Strawberry Vale community hall across West Burnside Road and walk down Eaton Avenue to Stancil Lane, then to the orchard.
For more information, visit blog.conservancy.bc.ca.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com