Above: Jane Ho (Urban Forest Outreach Team Member) and Annie Gray (Tree Care Team Member) installing a new tree well on a residential boulevard tree.
Spring is in the air and that means boots on the ground for the 14-member SNAP team.
Surrey’s Natural Area Partnership (SNAP) started the 2018 season on Monday, May 7th.
14 college and university students will be employed for the summer, thanks to the federal government’s Canada Summer Jobs program. They will be divided into three teams: habitat restoration, urban forest outreach, and tree care. Two more students from high school will be hired for the summer months.
All five of Surrey’s MPs contributed this year: John Aldag, Randeep Sarai, Ken Hardie, Sukh Dhaliwal, and Gordie Hogg.
2018 is the 18th year for SNAP, a partnership between the Green Timbers Heritage Society, the Sunnyside Acres Heritage Society, the White Rock and Surrey Naturalists and the City of Surrey’s Parks Division. It’s an example of how community groups can work with municipal governments for everyone’s benefit.
Surrey has over 1500 hectares of natural areas in over 500 parks across the city. Surrey Parks also manages over 100,000 trees in parks and along our city’s boulevards.
The three SNAP teams will work on invasive plant removal, native planting maintenance, garbage removal, door-to-door canvassing, hosting community events, park hosting, installing tree base wells, tree watering as well as other projects that benefit our urban forest.
The program is an opportunity for students to learn from leading practitioners of urban forest management, gain valuable career-oriented work experience and make great connections in the industry.
Nathan Ross, coordinator for SNAP says “the SNAP program is a perfect example of how benefits can be multiplied through community involvement and engaging youth in environmental stewardship.”For more information about SNAP visit: www.surreysnaturalareaspartnership.com/
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