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Today Mayor David Miller, Councillor
Paula Fletcher, Chair of the Parks and Environment Committee
(Ward 30 Toronto - Danforth) and General Manager of Parks,
Forestry and Recreation, Brenda Patterson recognized the
sponsors of Trees Across Toronto at special ceremony at Toronto
City Council.
"To continue to build a liveable city, we must take
responsibility for its natural features," said Mayor Miller.
"Trees Across Toronto reminds us all that we are stewards of our
urban forest and that our trees help create a more beautiful and
healthy Toronto."
Toronto's environmental plan, Change is in the Air, calls for
government, residents and businesses to work together to double
Toronto’s tree canopy from 17 per cent to 34 per cent by 2050.
Trees Across Toronto brings together government, residents and
the private sector to grow our urban forest by planting trees in
the parks and along roadways of Toronto. The program was started
in 1999 by Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone who was the City’s first
Tree Advocate.
"Trees Across Toronto is an amazing opportunity for individual
citizens and organizations to help contribute to the
replenishment of the urban forest," said Councillor Fletcher.
"We should be quite proud that since the start of the program in
1999, we have received over $1.5 million in cash and in-kind
support and over 400,000 native trees and shrubs have been
planted across the city."
"Trees Across Toronto is a great example of how Parks, Forestry
and Recreation staff have been able to work with community
organizations and the business community to ensure that our
environmental heritage is protected, restored and maintained so
that our parks can be enjoyed for generations to come," noted
Brenda Patterson.
This year’s Urban Forest sponsors are: CFRB Newstalk 1010,
Canadian National Exhibition, Enbridge Gas Distribution, HSBC
Bank Canada, Lomco, Standard Life, Sunshine Landscape, Toronto
Hydro and the Toronto Parking Authority.
As a new sponsor, Standard Life chose to support Trees Across
Toronto and include a tree planting activity for its employees
at Evergreen Brick Works, as part of its 175th anniversary
celebrations in 2008.
"We wanted to develop a number of exciting initiatives to carry
us forward beyond this landmark year for our company and our
employees. This is an excellent opportunity for Standard Life to
make its mark in a community that is so significant for us by
planting 175 trees, and help improve the environment," said
Joseph Iannicelli, President and CEO of Standard Life in Canada.
To learn more about Trees Across Toronto, volunteer at a
planting event or make a donation, please visit
http://www.toronto.ca/parks/tat/.
Donations to the program are gratefully accepted all year.
Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government,
and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It
is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and
most creative cities in North America. In the past three years,
Toronto has won numerous awards for quality, innovation and
efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government
is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and liveability for all
its residents.
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