Fraser Valley Conservancy program removes 172 tonnes of carbon dioxide

Published 3:40 pm Wednesday, March 4, 2026

After four years and hundreds of hours of work from passionate volunteers, the Step to It program has succeeded in bringing thousands of new plants to the Fraser Valley.

Run by the Fraser Valley Conservancy (FVC), this program was created with funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada and involved a variety of nature-themed events.

Now that the funding is done, the program has wrapped up, but not before helping achieve some truly impressive progress within the community, said FVC volunteer program coordinator Patricia Fantillo.

Over the course of 53 workshops, the Step to It program had 2,057 participants, with 343 volunteers planting trees. A total of 5,613 native plants were added to Fraser Valley communities and have since removed an estimated 172 tonnes of carbon dioxide – the weight of more than a dozen school buses.

While program participation got off to a bit of a slow start, with only 14 volunteers getting involved in the first year, this quickly changed.

Many volunteers continued to attend multiple workshops, and 137 new volunteers were brought on during the final year.

Fantillo credited the success of this program to how accessible the events were and the partnerships that were formed with local Fraser Valley governments and community organizations.

“People showed up in the rain to care for local parks, joined online challenges from home, and helped spread the word at community events,” said Fantillo.

“Step to It showed that when you make environmental action approachable and community-focused, people want to be part of it – and those small actions really do add up over time.”

FVC executive director Joanne Neilson said that while the Step to It program has come to an end, the spirit of it is still very much alive in the Fraser Valley.

“It’s been inspiring to see how many people care about the impacts of climate change and are keen to work together make a difference at home and in their local parks,” said Neilson.

One of the ways that interested residents can continue to lend a helping hand to the local environment is through the FVC’s Habitat Healers program, which can be read about at fraservalleyconservancy.ca.