For the Love of Trees - TD Bank Group helps NCC conserve forests in all 10 Provinces

TORONTO, Sept. 22, 2016 /CNW/ - The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and TD Bank Group (TD) are marking National Forest Week with the announcement of 25 conservation projects across the country.

The projects were made possible through the TD Forests program, which works to help protect critical forest habitat and grow and enhance urban green space. Over $5 million was invested by TD Forests to conserve and care for some of Canada's most important forest habitat through NCC.

The conservation projects total more than 40,606 acres (16,432 hectares). That's an area equivalent to more than 27,000 Canadian football fields – or 15 football fields a day over the five year initiative!

The sites represent a diversity of forest types found right across the country, from coastal rainforest in British Columbia, to montane forests in Alberta, to Great Lakes - St. Lawrence forest in Ontario and Quebec and boreal forest on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland & Labrador.

These projects include examples of rare old growth forest habitat and important wildlife corridors. They protect 50 kilometres of rivers and streams and provide habitat for 63 species at risk including grizzly bear, cerulean warbler, spring salamander, limber pine and Kentucky coffee tree.

Forests also provide additional benefits such as carbon storage, flood control, air purification and temperature modification. The report, The Natural Capital Value of Forest Habitat Conservation, produced by NCC scientists and the TD Economics team, reveals that just three of the 25 projects conserved provide more than $86 million in environmental benefits per year.

A list of individual local projects, by province and forest type, is with this news release.

Quotes:                                                                               

"Canada's forests are spaces of significant biodiversity and irreplaceable beauty. They play vital roles within nature and our communities including producing oxygen, regulating and cooling our climate, and cleaning our air and water," said John Lounds, President and CEO with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. "We are grateful that TD has joined us in this innovative collaboration which is providing environmental benefits for all Canadians."

"More than 90 percent of Canadians have said forests are important to them, and for good reason," says Karen Clarke-Whistler, Chief Environment Officer, TD Bank Group. "Forests form the backdrop of our communities, where we live, work and play – and they perform an essential role in cleaning the air and moderating temperatures. As our world becomes more urbanized it is essential to protect forests and the valuable habitats they represent. That's why we made protecting critical forest habitat a key pillar of the TD Forests program.

More:

The Nature Conservancy of Canada's Why Forests Matter speaker series, sponsored by TD, explores the myriad ways in which forests are important.  Speakers from diverse backgrounds share unique perspectives of the role of forests in their lives. This series has inspired more than 1,000 Canadians at 7 events across the country, to date. Three more events are planned this fall in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.

http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/what-you-can-do/events/why-forests-matter.html

About

The Nature Conservancy of Canada is the nation's leading private, not-for-profit land conservation organization, protecting vital natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962, NCC and its partners have helped protect more than 2.8 million acres (1.1 million hectares), coast to coast. 

Learn More

Visit:  www.natureconservancy.ca
Twitter:  @NCC_CNC and @NCC_CNCMedia

25 Nature Conservancy of Canada projects supported by TD Forests

Alberta

• 363 acres near Crowsnest Pass – Montane Region – Interior Douglas Fir
• 478 acres near Saskatchewan River – Boreal Forest

British Columbia

• 162 acres in South Selkirk Region of Southeastern BC – Columbian Forest
• 50 acres Denny Island – Great Bear Rainforest – Coastal Forest
• 408 acres – West Coast Rainforest

Manitoba

• 320 acres – Boreal Forest Northern Shield

New Brunswick

• 347 acres – Chignecto Isthmus Wilderness (Moose Sex Corridor Project)

Newfoundland and Labrador

• 606 acres – Crabbes River – Acadian Forest – western Newfoundland
• 158 acres – Salmonier River – Avalon Peninsula

Nova Scotia

• 370 acres – Long Tusket Lake – Acadian Forest
• 410 acres – Northumberland Strait – Acadian Forest

Ontario

• 43 acres – Backus Woods Addition – Norfolk County – Carolinian Forest
• 30 acres – Point Abino Woods – Niagara Region – Carolinian Forest
• 22,000 acres – near Lake Huron – Great Lakes Mixed Forest
• 399 acres – Powder Islands – Northern Lake Superior
• 1,478 acres – Crane River Bruce Peninsula – Great Lakes Mixed Forest
• 296 acres – Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Forest

Prince Edward Island

• 130 acres – Egmont Bay near Percival River – Acadian Forest

Quebec

• 780 acres – Malbaie River – Gaspe Peninsula
• 74 acres – Pointe Verte – Gaspe Peninsula
• 418 acres – Mount Foster – Green Mountains
• 10,051 acres – Kinonge River Valley
• 760 acres – Mount Burnt – near Vermont Border – Appalachian Mixed Forest

Saskatchewan

• 136 acres – North Saskatchewan River – Boreal Forest
• 439 acres – Nebo – Boreal Forest

SOURCE Nature Conservancy of Canada

Image with caption: "Nature Conservancy of Canada (CNW Group/Nature Conservancy of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160922_C5328_PHOTO_EN_779803.jpg

Media Contact: Andrew Holland - National Media Relations Director, Nature Conservancy of Canada, T.1-877-231-4400, [email protected]