2020 year in review - td

Celebrating 30 years • 1990 to 2020

2020 Year in Review For 30 years, your

generous contributions have been helping us support the creation of a more vibrant planet

Thanks to donors like you, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF) was able to help support 479 environmental projects across Canada in 2020. Your contributions helped grow community gardens, restore and protect habitat, plant trees, enhance green spaces where we live, play, and learn, and strengthen our communities.

This last year also marked two extraordinary milestones for TD FEF: we celebrated our 30th anniversary and surpassed $100 million in grants distributed.

This report highlights some of the organizations across Canada that are making a positive impact through TD FEF grants. Together, we’ve helped support our communities in thousands of ways that would not have been possible without you. Read on to discover the difference we’ve made together in 2020 and over the past 30 years.

Green by the NumbersHere’s what we accomplished together in 2020

TD FEF is proud to align with the goals of the TD Ready Commitment, the Bank’s corporate citizenship platform, aimed at creating a more inclusive and sustainable tomorrow. Together, we aspire to help nurture the environment so that communities and economies can thrive. If you donated to TD FEF, raised funds or volunteered your time, you made a difference. Here’s how:

$3.3+ millionTotal amount donated to TD FEF by TD employees

and customers

$2Most common

donation amount per month to TD FEF

479Number of local

environmental projects supported by TD FEF

across Canada

100Percentage of TD FEF’s

administration costs covered by TD

%

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$1+ millionAdditional support

provided by TD to support TD FEF grants and

programs like TD Tree Days

100Percentage of donations given to local initiatives:

every dollar goes directly to fund local

environmental projects

https://www.td.com/corporate-responsibility/ready-commitment/index.jsp

Offering support during COVID-19How we helped make positive impacts in light of the disruption presented by the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every facet of life as we know it, including how environmental projects and organizations operate. At a time when many are home more than ever, there’s never been a greater need for accessible green spaces for people to relax, exercise and take a break while staying apart. Over the last year, TD FEF worked with various organizations and their employees to help them address new realities and challenges. Here are a few ways we helped environmental organizations adapt in a challenging time:

1. Provided funding for webinars to enable environmental organizations to switch to virtual programming. Webinars offered in English and French, delivered by Park People, provided 175 TD FEF grantees with inspiration and practical tools to help them transition to online and digital programming.

“The bilingual webinars were an interactive learning opportunity for groups to get inspired, share experiences, and gather key learnings to support nature connection virtually with a diversity of audiences.”

– Rachel Yanchyshyn, Park People Project Manager

2. Worked with TD FEF grant recipients to provide ongoing, flexible support. In response to restrictions and local public health advice, we worked with organizations across Canada to help them pivot their existing programming and used insights from those conversations to adjust our granting guidelines to better meet the needs of applicants.

3. Provided support to organizations to help them plant trees safely in communities most impacted by COVID-19. In lieu of in-person TD Tree Day events this year, we supported an additional 38 green spaces across Canada. This included funding for greening projects, including 16 tree plantings in vulnerable communities.

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Greening Where You Live in 2020Take a moment to pause and recognize how you’ve made a difference. Your donations have helped support 479 grassroots projects focused on creating greener, more resilient communities across Canada. Here’s the impact TD FEF made last year by the numbers.

Grants by region*National

$142,4202 projects

Prairies

$614,69774 projects

Greater Ontario

$815,314119 projects

Atlantic

$216,97939 projects

Pacific

$491,78982 projects

Quebec

$200,62533 projects

Metro East and West

$996,276130 projects

*Total amount rounded to the nearest whole dollar.

Types of projects funded

A variety of local environmental improvements were made possible through your support of TD FEF.

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Total

$3,478,098 479 Projects

Habitat Restoration/Naturalization

6%33 projects

Citizen Science

7%37 projects

Other

2%11 projects Community Gardens

7%31 projects

Environmental Education and Community Engagement

33%164 projects

Urban Greening and Biodiversity

27%105 projects

Outdoor Classroom/Schoolyard Greening

14%83 projectsTrails/Park Improvement

4%15 projects

Investing for a Vibrant Planet:

$100 Million in Giving to DateFounded by TD Bank Group in 1990 and supported by donations from TD customers and employees, TD FEF has given more than $100 million toward grassroots environmental initiatives over the last 30 years. TD FEF grants have helped to fund the restoration of parks and waterways, protect wildlife, activate community gardens and create countless opportunities for people from all walks of life to build meaningful connections and care for the planet. Over the decades, here’s how we’ve helped to make a difference to the work of selected organizations.

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$3,598Average TD FEF grant amount

28,500+Local and national environmental and

community initiatives supported

$100+ millionGrants awarded for projects promoting

environmental protection, awareness

and conservation

Longtime TD FEF Grant Recipients

Making a Broader ImpactWe’re proud to offer TD FEF grants to organizations working provincially or nationally to help create a more vibrant planet. Some of these groups started with one person and a desk; years later, they’ve expanded to help make a difference in their local communities, all supported through TD FEF grants funded from your donations. Here’s how your contributions are helping to make an impact on a national scale.

Taking action on climate changeDreamRider Productions Society Grant recipient since 2008

This Vancouver-based charity uses the arts and interactive media to connect kids with nature through superhero missions that challenge families to take environmental action. Over the past 12 years, TD FEF has supported its most popular programs across Canada.

“TD FEF funding has been instrumental in growing our impact. Thanks to the support of TD FEF, we transitioned to a digital program, bringing messages of environmental protection to over 27,000 children in almost 100 Canadian cities.”

– Vanessa LeBourdais, Executive Producer, Creative Director

Nurturing a love of birdsBirds Canada Grant recipient since 2002

Canada’s leading science-based bird conservation organization brings professional biologists together with 65,000 engaged volunteer scientists each year to gather the data needed to analyze bird population trends. Birds Canada staff and volunteers take concrete stewardship action to conserve Canada’s wild birds and their habitats. Over the past 18 years, TD FEF has supported Birds Canada programs across the country.

Your Donations at Work:†

Environmental Education

Your donations helped fund

164educational

initiatives with$1,149,166

in grants Photo credit: Carlo Prim

erano - Revitalisation Saint-Pierre

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Starting on the right trackGRAME - Groupe de recommandations et d’actions pour un meilleur environnement Quebec grant recipient since 2010

Throughout the winter and spring of 2020, 41 preschool groups and their caregivers attended outdoor readings of nature books about colours, rain, the world of bees and more, combined with take-home activities for parents and reading recommendations from local libraries.

“The workshops on the environment are very popular with the children and parents. In a playful atmosphere, the little ones learn lots of interesting things and they talk about them long after.”

– Dana, Éducatrice garderie Les Petits Bergers

Cleaning up for healthier watersNature Trust of New BrunswickAtlantic grant recipient since 1997

An annual clean-up drew more than 100 community members across 32 different areas on the Fundy coastline. In small groups, volunteers collected 98 bags of debris, including 430 plastic bottles and 2,023 small plastic pieces.

Expanding knowledge of ocean lifePetty Harbour Mini AquariumAtlantic grant recipient since 2014

Children and teens learned about marine environments and animals through interactive teaching materials like bone replicas, viewing microscopic images and a “touch tank” of starfish and other creatures.

Nurturing environmental stewardsEcology NorthNorthwest Territories grant recipient since 2008

Through environmental day camps and school field trips, kids learned how to set up a vermicompost

bin, test water for pollution and find out more about local endangered species like the Northern Leopard Frog and the Western Toad. Once COVID-19 restrictions came into effect, educators continued programming through online eco-education lesson plans and resources.

†Since the onset of COVID-19, TD FEF has worked with funded organizations to ensure that any events or activities complied with local public health advice and followed the most current safety guidelines.


Parks & Green Spaces


153green spaces with$1,278,421

in grants

Celebrating “learning by doing”Nottawasaga Valley Conservation AuthorityGreater Ontario grant recipient since 1996

Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority has been carrying out greening projects with the support of TD FEF since 1997. While the conditions of 2020 led to a reduction in activity, in 2019, the group engaged 1,291 youth and adult volunteers in planting 5,270 native shrubs and trees and building 765 habitat houses for birds, bugs, bats and pollinators.

“At times, youth have said that they can feel powerless to help nature…we can provide wooden kits made in-house for students to build their own habitat structures and help biodiversity. We are building resilience in not only the habitats where the structures go, but also within the youth we work with.”

– Naomi Saunders, Manager, Environmental Education

Helping a natural asset thriveStanley Park Ecology SocietyPacific grant recipient since 1996

Through small group events and individual volunteering, Stanley Park successfully met their stewardship goals for the 2019/2020 season despite the challenges of COVID-19. Overall, 360 volunteers provided 5,252 hours of productive work, including invasive plant identification and removal and habitat restoration of 1.2 hectares in the renowned park.

Restoring habitat for species at riskThe Land Conservancy of BC Pacific grant recipient since 1999

As part of a multi-year restoration plan for a natural park preserve, volunteers of all ages, working individually and in small groups, smothered invasive plant species from a 300-square-metre area, using the low-impact method of laying cardboard and mulch to protect existing populations of snails and salamanders.

Broadening an appreciation of natureFondation Forêt BoucherQuebec grant recipient since 2016

With support from TD FEF, Fondation Forêt Boucher provides hands-on, interactive events to teach the local community about the rich natural history of a 700-acre urban forest. Their most recent festival, taking place prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, included 20 different activities including theatre in the trees, how-to-camp nights and recording a live podcast.


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Community Gardens


31gardens with

$229,248in grants

Nurturing young gardenersSentier UrbainQuebec grant recipient since 1999

For more than five years, Sentier Urbain has been working with schools, day camps and surrounding organizations to bring the vegetable garden of the Centre-Sud youth to life. Activities include urban agriculture and cooking workshops, children’s programs, and the planting and harvesting of more than 100 kg of fruits and vegetables annually.

Passing on traditional knowledgeBattlefords Family Health Centre Prairie grant recipient since 2013

In English and Cree, local First Nation Elders and Master Gardeners shared land-based learning with community members of all ages. This knowledge has helped grow plants for cultural practices and also grow and harvest veggies to share with each other and the food bank.

Growing fresh foodAltadore Elementary SchoolPrairies grant recipient since 1997

The Edible Garden is Calgary’s first organic, large-scale school and community garden. Over time, students, teachers and community members have had fun in the dirt, growing healthy produce in raised beds — 20 for the school groups and 28 for local neighbourhoods. In the past year alone, they donated 600 lbs of produce to local charities and mentored other community garden groups.

Getting growing indoorsLondon Regional Children’s MuseumGreater Ontario grant recipient since 1993

As the most recent addition to the Children’s Museum’s garden spaces, an innovative indoor

garden with clear sides allowed families to see plants growing both above and beneath the soil, even in the winter months of 2020! Kids gained experience planting and tending produce like carrots, beets, tomatoes and peppers.

“Multiple years of TD FEF funding have given the London Children’s Museum the opportunity to create and maintain multiple gardens and play spaces, and to develop and grow nature-based programming. Thanks to TD FEF, we’re engaging thousands of children and families to become lifelong stewards of our environment.”

– Lindsay Sutton, Development Associate


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Citizen Science


37initiatives with

$240,309 in grants

Making scientific equipment available to community groupsAtlantic Water NetworkAtlantic grant recipient since 2004

“Equipment Hubs” were established in New Brunswick and PEI where dozens of local watershed organizations can borrow scientific gear, share knowledge, and increase water quality data collection.

“We are ecstatic to be able to borrow equipment through Atlantic Water Network and ACAP Saint John. We have just started our water quality monitoring program which is used for long-term and baseline trends as well as to inform our restoration work.”

– Lita O’Halloran, biologist and conservation manager, Passamaquoddy Recognition Group Inc.

Surveying species in a natural arearare Charitable Research ReserveOntario/Metro West grant recipient since 2005

Community members joined rare to explore sensitive habitats, including tallgrass prairie and Provincially Significant Wetlands. Together, scientists, naturalists and citizen scientists have made thousands of species observations, including more than 1,000 species that were new to the area’s species list, and three spider species new to the provincial record.

Monitoring a biodiverse landscapeMeewasin Valley AuthorityPrairie grant recipient since 1998

Citizens and scientists counted fireflies, birds, amphibians and wildflowers in sensitive wetland/grassland areas, adding to the knowledge base for conservation and education programs, providing the data needed to create strong ecological assessments and management plans.

Identifying water quality hotspotsLake Winnipeg FoundationPrairie grant recipient since 2019

High levels of phosphorus have created unhealthy amounts of blue-green algae in Lake Winnipeg and

its watershed. In 2019, volunteers collected over 2,000 samples from 161 sites in Manitoba, giving scientists insights about pollution sources. The project continued in 2020, with a shifted focus on developing safe data collection protocols in light of COVID-19.


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Schools


83educational

initiatives with$496,424

in grants

Wildlife in the CityGUEPE – Groupe uni des éducateurs naturalistes et professionnels en environnementQuebec grant recipient since 2011

As part of their ongoing educational programs in schools, GUEPE is bringing the topic of wildlife in the city to life. By February 2020, more than 350 students in 20 classrooms had learned about biodiversity in the city, and what they could do to help ensure its survival.

Planting trees for the futureReForest LondonGreater Ontario grant recipient since 2005

Students in 22 elementary school classes grew a total of 800 trees and learned how to successfully plant them at home or on school grounds. After schools closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19, a weekly digital newsletter kept the learning going.

Monitoring water qualityLake Superior High SchoolGreater Ontario grant recipient since 2017

By turning the world’s largest freshwater lake into their classroom, high school students learned how to monitor local streams and rivers around Lake Superior for environmental health indicators to better understand water pollution. The next phase of the project includes meeting with local Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers to learn more about wolf and caribou populations and traditional plant use.

Making innovative artFoodShare TorontoMetro East grant recipient since 2005

This program showed 78 students how to use food scraps to create natural dyes for sustainable art projects, making the connection between reducing waste and keeping synthetic chemicals out of the water system.

“Thanks to TD FEF, we’ve been able to design, deliver and continuously improve on the educational programming we’ve delivered to thousands of young people and educators. TD FEF enables us to provide hands-on learning opportunities for the same communities year over year, building opportunities to deepen understanding around environmental and food systems issues.”

– Katie German, Director of Programs, FoodShare Toronto


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2020 year in review - td

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