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Those involved with the 91原创 Environmental Partners Society are known for getting their hands dirty for nature, but during the month of November they鈥檙e rolling up their sleeves for a different cause: men鈥檚 mental health.

All next month the local organization is taking part in Movember, a campaign first started to raise awareness about prostate cancer, which has since expanded to include mental health and suicide prevention, as well as testicular cancer 鈥� and they want the public to join them.

LEPS is holding a variety of events in November to raise awareness about men鈥檚 mental health and how getting outdoors can help promote wellness.

It鈥檚 a subject very close to Lisa Dreves, LEPS stewardship coordinator.

鈥淚鈥檓 mostly pushing this [campaign] because this year marks 25 years since my dad committed suicide, he was 48 years old,鈥� she said.

According to Movember, 鈥済lobally, on average, one man dies by suicide every minute of every day.鈥� In Canada, three out of four suicides are by men.

The charity hopes to reduce the rate of male suicides by 25 per cent by 2030, and Dreves wants to be part of the solution.

鈥淲e just want to promote getting outdoors and better mental health,鈥� Dreves said. 鈥淚t鈥檚, of course, not just for men that we鈥檙e doing it, but we鈥檙e using Movember as the platform to be able to spread the word about getting outside.鈥�

And to help people do just that, LEPS is hosting a several events where the community can get their hands dirty or just enjoy the outdoors.

鈥淭he nature walk is out at High Knoll Park and Brydon Lagoon. The 91原创 Field naturalists do walks all year, it鈥檚 a wonderful organization that tries to promote a love of nature, by experiencing nature,鈥� Dreves said.

鈥淎nd so the walk is a fairly easy walk, not a lot of hills or anything like that, or muck 鈥� just to check out what birds we see, what plants we see in the area, and just take more of a slower appreciation of the outdoors.鈥�

A complete list of November events include:

• Saturday, Nov. 6: Muckle Creek ivy pull,
• Sunday, Nov. 7: with Derby Reach Brea Island Park Association,
• Saturday, Nov. 13: West Creek Wetlands blackberry pull with Glen Valley Watersheds Society,
• Sunday, Nov. 14: Downtown Aldergrove clean-up with Bertrand Creek Enhancement Society,
• Saturday, Nov. 20: Ivy pull with Yorkson Watershed Enhancement Society,
• Sunday, Nov. 21: Steele Park ivy pull with Salmon River Watershed Society,
• Saturday, Nov. 27: High Knoll and Brydon Lagoon nature walk with 91原创 Field Naturalists, and
• Sunday, Nov. 28: Tree planting at the bridges by Al Anderson Pool鈥�.

To register for the Nov. 7 bog clean-up email Roxci Bevis at outreach@drbipa.org. To inquire about any of the other scheduled events contact Dreves, stewardship@leps.bc.ca

LEPS is currently in the process of organizing a Movember donation account, in the meantime Dreves asks the public to consider donating directly to the campaign at ca.movember.com/donate.