Imagine spending time outdoors, meeting new people, and helping to restore the health of local ecosystems … all before lunch. That’s what Restoration Wednesdays at GreenUP Ecology Park are all about.
Restoration Wednesdays are regular volunteer opportunities at GreenUP Ecology Park in Peterborough. Community members have met weekly since June to learn about a variety of ecological restoration topics, including invasive species management, native plant care, shoreline stabilization, and erosion control.
Due to popular demand, these weekly events will continue into the fall.
In just a few short months, GreenUP volunteers have made significant contributions to the park’s ecological health.
Several events were spent learning about and removing invasive plant species, such as common buckthorn, garlic mustard, honeysuckle, and dog strangling vine. Park staff and volunteers removed invasive species from more than 1,300 square metres of parkland — roughly the size of three NBA basketball courts.
While invasive species removal is an important first step in enhancing urban green space, meaningful restoration lies in what is offered back. This season, volunteers planted nearly 100 native specimens — including brown fox sedge, rosy sedge, tall thimbleweed, woodland sunflower, bottlebrush grass, jack-in-the-pulpit, and red and white trilliums, among others — in areas previously occupied by invasive species.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed in the face of climate change and systems that often feel too big to challenge, but local restoration work serves as a reminder that positive change is tangible.
Engaging in this work shifts the focus to what it is possible to influence: building relationships with the land, with one another, and creating pockets of resilience in a world that increasingly needs them. These actions may seem small, but they ripple outward.
Stephanie Larstone is one of GreenUP’s regular volunteers and lead gardener at Meyer’s Landscaping, a local landscaping company. Larstone shares how key learnings from Restoration Wednesdays have impacted her landscaping practice:
“My team has used what we learned during our volunteer work to immediately identify and remove baby buckthorn from a client’s garden, and the more we know about other invasive species, the better,” she says.
“I love working with the earth almost more than anything else, and the opportunity to do something to physically help right what’s gone wrong aligns with my values in a way that gives me a deeper sense of purpose,” Larstone adds.
For decades, volunteers have been at the heart of GreenUP’s mission to inspire and empower environmentally healthy and sustainable action in the community.
Their energy and skills have supported everything from planting and maintaining community orchards to surveying for active transportation throughout the city and educating the next generation of environmental activists. Today, volunteers continue to step up with knowledge, in community, and with care.
GreenUP remains committed to co-creating programs that amplify volunteer contributions and build a stronger, more engaged community rooted in care for the land.
GreenUP’s newest staff member, Christina Balint, is helping guide this work as volunteer program coordinator. Balint is building on the success of GreenUP’s existing volunteer initiatives in community spaces across the city and county.
As part of GreenUP’s commitment to inclusivity, she will coordinate volunteer orientation and training sessions, support volunteer events, and work to ensure that volunteers feel supported and valued.
Restoration Wednesdays offer an opportunity to connect with like-minded volunteers, GreenUP staff, and local ecosystems in an educational and community-focused setting.
Volunteers enjoy many benefits, from the personal fulfillment of learning and contributing to a 10 per cent discount at the GreenUP Native Plant and Tree Nursery, as well as special appreciation activities and educational events.
Most recently, a group of regular volunteers joined GreenUP staff on a professional development field trip to Alderville Black Oak Savanna, an Indigenous-led ecological restoration site on the shores of Rice Lake.
Whether an experienced ecologist or a total beginner, there is a place for everyone at GreenUP. Visit GreenUP’s event calendar at greenup.on.ca/events/ to find your next volunteer opportunity or email volunteer coordinator Christina Balint at christina.balint@greenup.on.ca.
