The council recognized park volunteers for their extensive work restoring habitats and removing over 500 yards of invasive plants to support the city's green spaces. Officials also discussed the long-term funding and equity of landscaping services at the waterfront park compared to other community parks. Additionally, council members celebrated Arbor Day and the city's Tree City USA award by planting 25 trees at a local elementary school alongside the Urban Forestry Commission.
Forests_green_space
Vancouver City Council · Apr 27, 2026 · 7:05–7:23 · Watch on CVTV ↗
Keywords: forestry open space parks urban forest
What was said
6:02 Hello, good evening mayor, council member, community and staff, Haley Heath, volunteer coordinator with the City of Vancouver. Thank you so much for this honor during National Volunteer Month and Week. I'm so glad to be here to celebrate the volunteers that shape Vancouver. In 2025, park volunteers supported 113 events, including habitat restoration, cleanup, education, and special event support. In collaboration with community partners, more than 6400 people participated in environmental education, and nearly 1500 volunteers contributed direct service hours to our parks. Together, they removed 532 yards of invasive plants. That's nearly 50 big old dump truck loads of English ivy and Himalayan blackberry, and if you've ever done that, you know it's quite a chore. Guided by the vision of our all-volunteer pollinator subcommittee, the city also achieved
6:57 BCDUSA affiliation status last year, strengthening our commitment to pollinators and biodiversity. Altogether, this work represents nearly $200,000 in volunteer value through the parks program alone. It's really just a snippet of the total impact made by volunteers. These numbers matter, but what matters most is what they show. Stewardship in action. People invest their time in the communities that they care and that they love. Volunteers illustrate our values every day in all of their actions. They don't just help the city, they strengthen our entire community. They restore and protect ecosystems, they deepen connections between people, they innovate and share new ideas, and they help foster a stronger sense of belonging for all across Vancouver. And so tonight, to every volunteer in the city of Vancouver, I just want to say thank you.
7:53 Our city is greener, it's stronger, it's more resilient, compassionate, and connected because of you. Happy volunteer month. All right, we've been working a lot on housing. This is a fair housing act proclamation, we have a couple individuals with us this evening. Whereas the Fair Housing Act was enacted on April 11th, 1968, as Title VIII of the Civil
Evidence (1 match)
direct keyword 7:05–7:23 forestry, open space, parks, urban forest
n of our all-volunteer pollinator subcommittee, the city also achieved BCDUSA affiliation status last year, strengthening our commitment to pollinators and biodiversity. Altogether, this work represents nearly $200,000 in volunteer value through the parks program alone. It's really just a snippet of the total impact made by volunteers. These numbers matter, but what matters most is what they show. Stewardship in action. People invest their time in the communities that they care and that they lov