Investing in the Growth and Care of Green Spaces in North America and the U.K.

TORONTO, March 17, 2015 /3BL Media/ – TD announced today the 34 communities across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. that will receive 2015 grants from TD Green Streets, a program that encourages and supports the adoption of leading-edge practices in municipal forestry.  Projects include the development of 12 urban orchards at a housing complex in Manchester, U.K.; a storm-water management project in Edmonton, Alta., Canada; and the development of a non-profit tree nursery on reclaimed vacant land in Bridgeport, CT, U.S.A.

"The 34 innovative projects supported through TD Green Streets in 2015 represent a commitment to our urban forests that will create environmental, social and economic benefits for today –  and for the future," said Clarke-Whistler, Chief Environment Officer for TD. "Urban forests and green space are vital to the well-being of communities, which is why we fund urban greening projects through TD Green Streets and why we've made growing urban forests and green space a pillar of the broader TD Forests program."  

TD Green Streets encourages the adoption of leading-edge practices in urban forestry, providing grants to enable municipalities to bring to life innovative projects that help grow and care for their urban forests and community green spaces. Over the years, these projects have included bio-swales, rain gardens, citizen pruner programs, urban orchards and "forest classrooms." 

TD Green Streets is part of the TD Forests [tdforests.com] initiative, which works to grow urban forests and green space and protect critical forest habitat.

“Planting trees and growing the tree canopy in urban centres can have a tremendous impact on the health of people and the communities they live in,” said Michael Rosen, President of Tree Canada. “Programs such as TD Green Streets will help communities from coast to coast reap these benefits for many years to come.”

"We're excited to join TD in celebrating 10 communities committed to effective tree care for the benefit of all," said Matt Harris, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. "TD Green Streets grants will help these worthy Tree City USA program participants to remain leading environmental stewards of urban and community forestry."

“Trees bring social, environmental and even economic benefits to urban communities. They’ve been shown to increase pride in an area and boost community spirit. Put simply, we believe places with more trees are better places," shared Community Forest Trust chair Stephen Falder. “This program aims to find new ways to deliver some of these benefits to urban neighbourhoods. Our two grant recipients will demonstrate just what difference trees can make to our towns and cities - bringing a much-needed touch of nature to our urban areas.” 

2015 TD Green Streets Grant Recipients 

CANADA
•    Bolton, Ont. 
•    Brandon, Man.
•    Calgary, Alta.
•    L'Épiphanie / Comité Écologique du Grand Montréal, Que.
•    Charlottetown, P.E.I.
•    Ts'elxweyeqw Tribe, Chilliwack, B.C.
•    Edmonton, Alta.
•    Fredericton, N.B.
•    Guelph, Ont.
•    Nanaimo, B.C.
•    Oshawa, Ont.
•    Port Hope, Ont.
•    Saugeen First Nation, Southampton, Ont.
•    St. Anne de Bellevue, Que.
•    St. Lambert, Que.
•    St. Leonard, Que.
•    Strathroy, Ont.
•    Surrey, B.C.
•    Swift Current, Sask.
•    Toronto, Ont. – Danforth BIA
•    Truro, N.S.
•    West Vancouver, B.C.

U.S.A.
•    Abington, Penn.
•    Alexandria, Vt.
•    Asheville, N.C.
•    Bridgeport, Conn.
•    Bronx, N.Y.
•    Chicopee, Mass.
•    Holyoke, Mass.
•    Lawrence, Mass.
•    Miami Gardens, Fla.
•    Philadelphia, Penn.

U.K.
•    Leeds City Council
•    Southways Housing (Manchester City Council)

About TD Green Streets

TD Green Streets Canada
TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF) has been title sponsor of TD Green Streets – Tree Canada’s flagship program – since 2010 and has provided $1.5 million in funding to communities across Canada. TD FEF disburses a total of $300,000 in matching grants annually (valued at up to $15,000 each) to a minimum of 20 recipients.  The program is open to municipalities, Aboriginal communities and Business Improvement Associations.

TD Green Streets USA
TD launched TD Green Streets in the US in 2013 in collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation. The program is open to current Arbor Day Foundation Tree City USA® communities within TD Bank’s footprint.  Municipalities can apply to receive one of ten $20,000 grants in support of local forestry projects in low-to-moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods. 

TD Green Streets UK
TD joined with the Community Forest Trust (CFT) in 2014 to launch TD Green Streets in the UK.  Building on CFT's existing Green Streets program, TD provides two £10,000 grants to enable larger scale urban greening projects to come to life in the regions of Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. Priority is given to communities in less affluent areas that have the greatest potential to benefit from high quality urban forestry. TD Green Streets UK is the second major TD initiative related to urban forests to be launched in Europe. TD Tree Days was introduced to the U.K. in 2011 and Luxembourg in 2012.

About TD Forests
Established in 2012, TD Forests works to grow urban forests and green spaces, protect critical forest habitats and encourage the responsible use of forest products.  TD Forests brings together, under one canopy, the bank's long-standing community programs related to forest conservation and education, along with a major conservation initiative in North America. 

Through its TD Forests initiative, TD has committed to work with, and within, communities across North America to increase the number of urban trees and to raise awareness of the value and benefits of urban forests and forest ecosystems.

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 Canada.  In 2014, TD FEF supported over 1,000 projects with $4.9 million in funding. Thousands of donors give to TD FEF on a monthly basis, and TD Bank Group (TD) 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 tdfef.com.

About TD Bank Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves more than 24 million customers in three key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the globe: Canadian Retail, including TD Canada Trust, TD Auto Finance Canada, TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, TD Auto Finance U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.), and an investment in TD Ameritrade; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with approximately 9.7 million active online and mobile customers. TD had CDN$1.1 trillion in assets on January 31, 2015. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.