TD Bank employees and volunteers at the TD Tree Days event that took place Saturday at Quinte Conservation. Photo courtesy of Sarah Neilson.
By Stephanie Clue [1]
BELLEVILLE – Quinte Conservation [2]and the Toronto Dominion [3] Bank have teamed up to help the environment.
On Saturday, 35 volunteers helped plant 250 trees at Potter’s Creek Conservation area. It was part of the annual TD Tree Days [4] program.
Manager customer service Sarah Neilson and financial advisor Colleen Catlin from TD bank help plant trees at Quinte Conservation. Photo courtesy of Sarah Neilson.
Manager of customer services at TD bank Sarah Neilson says TD Tree Days allows for employees and their families to show environmental leadership.
“It’s funded by the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation [5] and it allows our customers and community partners to help the environment in their communities,” Neilson said in an email to QNet News.
She said over the past six years, volunteers have planted 235,000 trees in Canada. The goal for the program this year is to plant 50,000 across the country.
TD Tree Days has been planting with the conservation area for the past three years, with a total of 750 trees in Potter’s Creek.
TD Tree Days take place in the fall which is the best time to plant trees. Because of the colder weather the trees automatically go into “prepare for winter mode,” Neilson said. This means the roots will dig deeper into the ground and create a stronger root structure.
Education coordinator Maya Navrot said Quinte Conservation’s goal was to increase the diversity of wildlife at Potter’s Creek.
“In Belleville this was our fourth year working with TD Tree Days to plant at Potter’s Creek Conservation Area,” she said.
Over the last four years, volunteers have planted over 30 different species of trees and shrubs like white pine, silver maple and mountain ash.
Navrot said only trees native to the area are selected for planting.