Residents are invited to help remove invasive plants from Lookout Lake Park on Sunday, September 27, 2026, with Friends of Colwood Parks. The volunteer cleanup runs from 10 AM to 12 PM and will focus on pulling Scotch broom and holly, two species that crowd out native plants and increase wildfire risk. No experience is needed, all ages are welcome, and the group will provide tools, safety training, and snacks.
Friends of Colwood Parks, a nonprofit founded in July 2025, has already organized 40 volunteer events. Volunteers have contributed more than 500 hours and removed over 100 cubic metres of invasive plants from city parks. The group works with the City of Colwood to rehabilitate local parks through community-led stewardship.
Scotch broom, introduced to Vancouver Island as a garden plant in the 1850s, is a highly invasive woody weed. A mature plant can live up to 25 years and produce seeds that survive in soil for 30 years. It crowds out native plants, prevents forest regrowth, and increases wildfire intensity, according to the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia.
Lookout Lake Park is a Mountaintop retreat popular for fishing, swimming, and hiking at 817 Batting Place. The cleanup is part of an ongoing effort to restore native ecosystems in Colwood, where the city’s 2025-2027 Strategic Plan prioritizes strengthening community and sustaining nature. In April 2026, Friends of Colwood Parks received an organizational environmental stewardship award from the Citizens’ Environment Network in Colwood.
Volunteers can contact [email protected] for more information.
