Thijs (pronounced ‘Tice’) and Brock are full-time islanders who volunteer at the Conservancy’s weekly habitat restoration events. In December, they got together with one of our ecosystem technicians, Eden Perry, to talk about their experiences as volunteers.

Habitat restoration events generally run once a week, from 10am-12pm. Activities take place in a variety of ecosystems across the island at our restoration sites in public parks and private property. Interested in joining? Sign up for our email list here and get in the know!

We are so grateful for our volunteers for all of the time, effort and support they contribute! 

And now, to hear from Thijs and Brock.

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How did you learn about this volunteering opportunity with the Conservancy? When did you start volunteering?

Thijs: We moved here three years ago and learned about the Conservancy in our first week, became members, and started getting the Oystercatcher. I saw some events going on and thought, hmm, why don’t I go and help them out and cut some blackberry? Especially because Rob came over to do a Landholder Consultation and we found out we have a lot of blackberry and daphne on our property. I started cutting them all and thought hey, this is fun. I kept seeing daphne and Himalayan blackberry when I took my bike to wherever on Mayne Island, and that hit something in me. I think it was March of 2024 that I started consistently volunteering.

Brock: I have done some volunteering many, many years ago but more consistently since the spring of 2022. What was helpful to us, same as Thijs mentioned, was that Rob came over to look at our property and gave us an overview of what to pay attention to on the land. Also, riding around the island on my bike, I started paying attention to the invasive species. It just felt that it was something that I wanted to do for the community and a way to get out and see and enjoy the land. 

I’ve learned so much, not only about identifying native and invasive species, but also what to do in terms of taking them out effectively. 

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What does the average volunteer session look like for you?

Thijs:  I’ve done mostly invasive species removal, so the average day for me is getting into an enclosure or an area, like Bennett Bay or Henderson Park, and just removing every Scotch broom, Himalayan blackberry and daphne that I see. 

It’s very simple and impulse based, just finding something and hitting it with my loppers. It’s fun to see the immediate visual difference after you’ve been at a site for a couple hours, knowing that it makes room for native plants to thrive. There’s that feel-good aspect of it. It’s weird that you’re helping nature by removing plants, but you know you’re doing something good. I also like that sometimes I have to climb a hill or go deep into a forest. You get to spaces where you never go if you are going on a walk or a hike where you always stay on the path. 

Of course, there are also sessions when we plant native species from the Conservancy’s nursery, which is an entirely different day. There is a nice contrast.

Brock: I really enjoy getting together with the folks that are volunteering. It’s always a different eclectic group of people that have different backgrounds and interests. We get together and introduce ourselves and then we get told what we’re doing and where to go, and we get into the field. I always compare it to painting a house, because you can actually see the difference right away as you’re doing your work, so you get that immediate gratification. There tends to be chit chat amongst people so you also get that interaction while knowing that you’re doing something good.

At the end of the session, it’s kind of fun to decide, “Am I going to have a granola bar, or am I going to have a drink?” 

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Has volunteering impacted or shaped your relationship with the lands and waters of SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island?

Thijs: When we first moved here three years ago, I don’t think I noticed daphne or blackberry. Now my hands are itching when I’m walking around the island because you just can’t ignore it. When I’m in a car driving around BC, the blackberry sticks out to me. You just want to get out of your car and cut them down.

While we remove the invasive species, we also learn about the ones that are not invasive. Now that I know what a snowberry and salmonberry are, I see those too!

 Brock: I was at an AGM for the Conservancy a couple years ago, and Rob Underhill said something really struck home: if you came to this island as a visitor, you would look at the beautiful greenery and lush country, and you would think that this is just so diverse. But if you’ve been here 40 years ago and see it today, you would be shocked at what it looks like. I hold that in my mind when I go walking. 

When I first started volunteering at Bennett Bay, we started with the Briar rose and the Scotch broom, and worked all the way to the end, and I see these piles of dried-up residue of what we removed and go, wow, that’s what volunteering really has done here. The community has stepped up and done this. I think it’s been a bit of a wake-up call that we can’t just sit and do nothing. It’s important.

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What is a fond memory you have of volunteering with us?

Thijs: Yeah, it’s a very simple one here at Bennett Bay. There was a day we started planting some native plants in the enclosure and when we were done, we decided to remove blackberry too because there were some huge patches nearby. One plant was metres high and went all the way up a tree. We started cutting it down and yanking on it. There is a picture of me with this snake of a blackberry that we were pulling out of the tree. That was a fun memory. 

My most valuable memory though is not one day, but the whole first few weeks I started volunteering with the Conservancy. We started out at Henderson Park and climbed up the big hill to Vulture Ridge removing Scotch broom. Henderson Park is in an area where there are no shops, and I don’t live there so I really have to go there for a reason. I realized one of those reasons should be because it’s beautiful!  At the end of one our Scotch broom removing sessions, I remember looking up at the view in front of us. I didn’t even see it the first two hours! I thought this is magical. Every time I see that we’re going back there, I know that it’s a long ride on my bike, but that’s a beautiful part of the island that I usually don’t get to go to. Now if it’s been a long time since my last visit, I just want to go there again to see the work that we’ve done. 

Brock: I would say it’s not just one memory but a couple. First off, really, I enjoy being out with the people and the chuckles and some of the fun that we have chatting about things. And then the other is going back and seeing the work that we’ve done in the past where things are really starting to get under control and we’re in a maintenance program. It just makes me feel so good that all of us are working so hard at it. It seems to be successful. 

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What piece of wisdom or advice do you have for people who might be curious about volunteering with us but haven’t taken that first step?

Thijs: If you’re not helping out, it’s alright, but you’re missing out on an amazing two hours of being with people who you maybe haven’t met yet, and you’re going to be in places you probably haven’t been. You’re going to learn a lot and see the island through different eyes. Come on down and try it, it’s amazing. 

Brock: I would say that through this volunteer work, I’ve met some fascinating people, gotten to learn what their backgrounds were, and how diverse a population we have on the island. I think it’s really nice to be out for two hours, once a week or once every few weeks, whatever you can give. We learn about the ecology of the island, we always have fun, and we always get a snack at the end!