Nature cleanups: good for the forest, great for your brain

If you’re looking for a little mental lift, you may want to consider a little time in the woods.

We’re not saying you have to go full Henry David Thoreau, but a case can be made about how good you can feel when you give a little something back to Mother Nature.

Since 2014, the Greater Victoria Green Team (GVGT) has been organizing hands-on environmental activities that restore local ecosystems.

It just finished a two-day cleanup of invasive English ivy along UVic’s Alumni Chip Trail on the university’s campus. Nasty stuff that ivy. A real sunlight thief and forest killer.

But in a scene played out myriad times here on the Island, a group of people, mostly students—60 one day late last month and 40 a couple of days later—pulled out 18 cubic metres of the choking vine. That’s more than 100 bathtubs full, the GVGT says.

The work effectively restored about 180 square metres of habitat, potentially saving dozens of trees and countless native plants from being overtaken.

It gets better.

Working with the Victoria Foundation, the group put together a survey of some of the participants and found:

• 97% experienced a positive boost in their well-being (with 87% noting that being in nature contributed to this)
• 95% felt a sense of belonging and connection with others
• 95% increased their understanding of environmental issues
• 92% felt inspired to take future action to help the environment

It’s a really small sample size—just 38 people—so the result is hardly conclusive. But it sure is effortless to feel that giving back to nature can create some seriously positive vibes.

One participant, Isaac, said the experience was a wonderful way to connect with nature and grow a further appreciation for the environment.

“Even more so, connecting with the community to make a difference under the same shared goal and witnessing the positive impact on the ecosystem is the biggest reward," they said.

The GVGT has organized more than 700 nature dates like these over the last dozen years. Volunteers remove plants, plant new ones, or clean up litter. It’s the kind of experience that can improve well-being, reduce stress, and inspire hope, the group says.

"Being out here means a lot to me because not only are we doing good, but we are doing good together,” said Jace, another student. “This is really about connection. You are connecting yourself to the land that you have been on forever."

GVGT program manager Sara Schwartz says working in collaboration with UVic provides students with a taste of environmental stewardship in their backyard.

“By restoring the Alumni Chip Trail, they see firsthand how their actions support local ecosystems and strengthen their connections to each other."

The cleanup group thing is nothing new—Surfrider does a great job of this, usually once a month—but in these stressful times, it’s good to be reminded of nature’s amazing powers to uplift and regenerate.

Earth Day is coming up (April 22), and the GVGT is holding another cleanup from 10am to 2pm at Highrock Cairn Park as part of Esquimalt’s activities one week beforehand.

Surfrider's next beach cleanup is along the Gorge on Mother’s Day.