SPRING is in the air and that means boots on the ground for the 14-member Surrey Natural Areas Partnership (SNAP) team.

Fourteen post-secondary students and recent graduates will be employed from now until the end of August, thanks to the federal government’s Canada Summer Jobs program. They will be working on 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.

2019 is the 19th 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 is an example of how community groups can work with municipal governments for everyone’s benefit.

SNAP teams will work on invasive plant removal, native planting maintenance, garbage removal, hosting community events, door-to-door canvassing, park hosting, installing tree base wells, tree watering as well as other projects that benefit our urban forest.

Surrey has over 1,500 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 partnership between grass-roots organizations and the City helps maintain and enhance the experience of the outdoors for everyone in Surrey.

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.

Shenae Borschneck, Program Coordinator for SNAP says: “By engaging youth and encouraging community involvement in environmental stewardship, SNAP helps to preserve Surrey’s natural heritage for future generations.”

For more information about SNAP visit: www.surreysnaturalareaspartnership.com/