Guelph’s urban forest to grow thanks to residents and TD Green Streets grantGuelph, ON, September 16, 2015—Over 200 Guelph households will add a tree to their yard thanks to a $15,000 grant from TD Green Streets.

All available trees have been reserved and will be collected during the City’s Adopt-a-Tree event this Saturday. At the event, experts from the City of Guelph’s Healthy Landscapes program, Pollination Guelph, the University of Guelph Arboretum and Trees for Guelph will help residents select the right species for their yard, and provide planting and care advice.
“We’re very excited to receive this support from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF) and Tree Canada again this year,” said Karen McKeown, Outdoor Water Efficiency Technician for the City of Guelph. “This event really makes a positive impact in our community— entire families come out to pick up their trees and learn about our urban forest.”
Guelph residents were invited to register for a tree on a first-come, first-served basis beginning August 27. The 150 trees originally allotted under the grant were reserved within one week and many more requests followed. The City worked with TD FEF to provide an additional 90 trees, allowing the City to provide trees to all the residents who responded to the initial offer.
“Our community’s response to this program has been amazing and we really appreciate TD allowing us to use more of the grant funds to purchase additional trees,” noted McKeown. “Trees benefit us in so many ways, from cutting down on noise pollution and saving on energy costs in the home to helping protect our water supply.”
The TD Green Streets grant also supported a reassessment of Guelph’s tree canopy. Results of this survey are currently being reviewed.
“The goal of TD Green Streets is to encourage the adoption of leading-edge practices in municipal forests, and we want to commend the City of Guelph for ongoing efforts to build a healthy urban forest,” said Mary Desjardins, Executive Director, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation. “The Adopt-a-Tree event is a great model of community engagement.”
“We congratulate the City of Guelph for continuing to create important green space in their community,” said Michael Rosen, President of Tree Canada. “We’re pleased to support Guelph’s efforts and we look forward to seeing their urban forest grow, tree by tree.”
Applications to the 2015 TD Green Streets program were open to Canadian municipalities, First Nations communities and Business Improvement Associations (BIAs) in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. All submissions were reviewed by regional Tree Canada Community Advisers, Board Members, urban forest practitioners and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation representatives based on innovation, community involvement and technical expertise.
For more information about tree care and Guelph’s Urban Forest Management Plan, visit guelph.ca/trees.
For more information on the 2015 TD Green Streets winning submissions, visit tdgreenstreets.ca.