Arnold Lim

B次元官网网址 Gazette staff

Brianne SleivertB次元官网网址檚 polka-dotted gumboots are firmly entrenched in a muddy field off Cecil Blogg Drive in Colwood. Next to her, Belmont secondary classmate Emmah Langer, wearing pink-trimmed flower boots, scoops loose dirt away with her hands as Sleivert shovels out a hole. The two are planting one of 500 trees to be added at Colwood Creek Park as part of the cityB次元官网网址檚 Trees for Tomorrow program.

B次元官网网址淲e like to get involved in community and do what we can,B次元官网网址� said Sleivert, 17. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 good because it helps our community right by our school.B次元官网网址�

Dozens of Belmont students are lined up around them in adjacent dirt patches, where park staff have prepped the area for them to dig, drag, stomp and plant hundreds of Douglas fir, cedar, black cottonwood and alder trees at the park.

The project, designed to help improve the creek habitat and enhance the park, is funded in part by a $20,000 provincial grant and money from the City of Colwood. On the ground itB次元官网网址檚 receiving help from the Victoria Green Team and local youth and community volunteers.

Colwood Coun. Cynthia Day said the project has been a long time coming.

B次元官网网址淚t took 25 years of planning to get new trees here,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淏ut it is one of the most important assets in our municipality, our green spaces. I am (also) so happy to see youth involved in our community, and see a positive way to showcase all they contribute.B次元官网网址�

Day said the new trees are welcomed in an area where development once cleared an evergreen old growth forest for a new golf course. When those plans fell through, the top soil was scraped up and sold off to pay off debt.

Langer hopes the studentsB次元官网网址� efforts can help move the park a step closer to what it once was. B次元官网网址淚f I revisit this park in the future, I will know I had a part in rebuilding this B次元官网网址� I can revisit this with my children in 20 years and know this was our doing,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淲e wanted to help re-establish the environment our community lives in. ItB次元官网网址檚 improving the environment for our school (and) our neighbourhood. We planted 500 trees today and this is great.B次元官网网址�

alim@goldstreamgazette.com