People began lining up well in advance of the annual seedling giveaway hosted by and the non-profit held at the Derek Doubleday Arboretum on Saturday, June, 1.

North Otter resident Shirley Sawatsky was first in line, arriving with her husband Lloyd an hour ahead of the distribution.

Sawatsky has been a regular attendee since the annual giveaway was started by the late MP Mark Warawa, an annual tradition continued by Warawa鈥檚 successor, van Popta.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful day,鈥� Sawatsky said, despite the grey and damp conditions.

鈥淲hen you do get your plant, you can plant it right away because it鈥檚 raining, so it will be watered,鈥� she noted.

This year, B.C. native plants Soft Shield ferns and Pacific rhododendrons were being distributed in recognition of , which celebrates Canada鈥檚 accomplishments and encourages Canadians to contribute to conserving and protecting their environment.

The rhododendrons were what interested Sawatsky.

鈥淲e have plenty of ferns in our garden [at home] but the rhodos, how lovely is that!鈥� Sawatsky enthused.

van Popta said he was proud to continue the tradition.

鈥淚鈥檝e been doing it for, I guess, five years since I was first elected, but before that, Mark Warawa, my predecessor, did this 鈥� it was his initiative that he had started,鈥� van Popta told the 91原创 Advance Times.

鈥淲hat a pleasure it is to be out with all these gardening enthusiasts in 91原创 that are going to plant trees and shrubs that are native to the region, that are going to help enhance our environmental greenery here in 91原创 and in the Fraser Valley,鈥漹an Popta added.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to have them out and carry on this tradition for yet another year.鈥�

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Popularlity of free seedlings draw line of gardeners

Every year, Canadian Environment Week coincides with World Environment Day, which this year had a theme of 鈥淕eneration Restoration鈥� that focused on land restoration, fighting desertification and drought resilience.

READ ALSO: A tree is planted on Mark Warawa鈥檚 birthday