TORONTO, ONTARIO — (Marketwired) — 10/01/14 — Tree Canada and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF) are encouraging communities nationwide to get innovative with their urban forests, with an offer of matching grants up to $15,000 for qualifying projects.
Since its inception in 1994, Green Streets has awarded funding to more than 500 recipients, helping to change the landscape of communities across Canada. As –s flagship program, TD Green Streets supports and encourages innovation in urban forestry. The program is open to all Canadian municipalities and Aboriginal communities, as well as business improvement associations (BIA) in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
“We are excited to launch another year of TD Green Street funding,” says Michael Rosen, President of Tree Canada. “We look forward to working with like-minded communities that understand a healthy urban forest means a healthy community. With TD Green Streets, we can help communities grow into better places to live.”
The deadline to submit an application for a 2015 TD Green Streets grant is December 12, 2014. Recipients will be announced in March 2015. Grant recipients are selected by a panel of representatives from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, Tree Canada, and regional urban forest practitioners. TD FEF has been the title sponsor of TD Green Streets since 2010.
“Each year TD Green Streets funds innovative projects that impact, and contribute to the greening of cities and towns across Canada,” says Mary Desjardins, Executive Director, TD FEF. “We are thrilled to support these projects – and hope that more communities will be inspired to explore and develop creative methods to manage their tree canopies.”
Past TD Green Streets grant recipients include:
Brampton, ON
Brampton–s innovative project involved the installation of two demonstration bio-swales, a form of low impact development (LID). Featuring native plants and trees, it effectively showcased green infrastructure and sustainable urban design. The bio-swales were located within the municipal right of way and designed to capture and treat storm water runoff prior to entering the sewer system. Located along a well-used traffic corridor (County Court Boulevard) and in a central community park (County Court Park), the project continues to be highly visible and accessible to the community, supporting awareness and interest in environmental design and improvement.
Black River First Nation, MB
Black River First Nation–s project aimed to reconnect youth with the forest. Grades 5 through 10 students helped to plant about 5,000 White spruce seedlings. Educational components of the program focused on the impact of trees on the health of the community and the environment as a whole. Integrated into the curriculum, the planting area became a living classroom for the students, as well as for future classes. Tree health will be assessed using parameters followed by Environment Canada–s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN), and as the area is developed, the young trees will sequester emissions from passing vehicles, mitigating some of the problems associated with greenhouse gasses.
Kingston, NS
The Village Tree Planting project was an ambitious project designed to improve overall community health through investment in the urban canopy. Trees were selected and planted to provide tangible benefits to the community, including reducing storm water runoff, improving air quality, sequestering carbon, and reducing overall energy usage by homeowners as the trees grow to provide shade. In addition to the planting The Village Tree project provided training workshops for residents and volunteers, staff, and community organizations on the importance of trees and their value to the community, as well as basic maintenance techniques.
For more information on TD Green Streets, and to apply for a 2015 TD Green Streets grant, visit .
About Tree Canada
Tree Canada is a not-for-profit charitable organization established to encourage Canadians to plant and care for trees in urban and rural environments. A winner of the Canadian Environmental Award (2007), Tree Canada engages Canadian companies, government agencies and individuals to support the planting of trees, the greening of schoolyards, and other efforts to sensitize Canadians to the benefits of planting and maintaining trees. To date, 80 million trees have been planted, more than 550 schoolyards have been greened, and Tree Canada has organized eleven national urban forest conferences. More information about Tree Canada is available at .
About TD Friends of the Environment Foundation
From schoolyard naturalization and energy conservation, to tree plantings and environmental education, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF) is proud to provide funding to help sustain an incredible array of grassroots environmental programs across the country. In 2013, TD FEF provided more than $4.4 million in support of nearly 1,000 projects. Thousands of donors give to TD FEF on a monthly basis, and TD Bank Group contributes in excess of $1 million annually. TD also covers the management costs of running TD FEF, which guarantees 100 per cent of every dollar donated funds environmental projects in the community in which the donation was made. For more information, visit .
Contacts:
Sabrina Ramlall
MSL Canada
416 847 1317
Amanda Tran
TD Bank Group
416 982 3375
Richard Walker
Tree Canada
613 567 5545 ext. 224
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