Boosting urban tree cover in cities across Canada for National Tree Day
On September 20, BMO colleagues joined Tree Canada and over 1,450 community volunteers to celebrate National Tree Day by planting more than 6,300 trees in 17 communities across the country.
BMO partnered with Tree Canada for the second year in a row to increase community well-being and address climate change by planting native trees and shrubs in local parks and green spaces. We are contributing $350,000 over two years in support of National Tree Day and Tree Canada’s mission to inspire, educate and enable Canadians to plant and nurture trees to improve lives and address climate change.
This year was the largest National Tree Day celebration to date. Thanks to BMO’s support, more volunteers planted trees in more communities than on any previous National Tree Day. Trees provide numerous environmental and health benefits as they grow, and increasing urban tree canopy is key to regulating temperatures during heat waves, removing pollutants from the air, reducing flood risks and increasing wildlife habitat.
Free planting events took place in St. John’s, NL; Charlottetown, PE; Halifax, NS; Truro, NS; Saint John, NB; Quebec City, QC; Montreal, QC; Ottawa, ON; Toronto, ON; Mississauga, ON; Vaughan, ON; Peterborough, ON; Winnipeg, MB; Saskatoon, SK; Edmonton, AB; Olds, AB and North Vancouver, BC.
“BMO is pleased to continue our Purpose-driven work with Tree Canada putting our shared goals into action by making progress for a sustainable future and transition to a net-zero world. Thank you to the record number of participants across the country for your dedication to this important cause and continuing to help Boldly Grow the Good in business and life.”
– Helen Seibel
Head, Community and Employee Giving, BMO
“Tree Canada is inspired by the fact that Canadians have signed up in record numbers to plant trees with us on National Tree Day. In the face of this year’s devastating wildfires, it is heartening to see that more individuals, local groups and businesses are taking meaningful steps to grow Canada’s tree canopy and help us grow better places to live in communities across the country.”
– Nicole Hurtubise
Chief Executive Officer, Tree Canada
In 2022, BMO supported 12 Tree Canada planting events. Over 1,100 volunteers, including almost 300 BMO employees and their guests, helped plant more than 4,000 trees in communities across Canada.
This project is part of BMO’s commitment to a sustainable future and our efforts to enable communities to build environmental resilience. Earlier this year, BMO supported One Tree Planted’s urban greening projects in California and planted one tree for each Bank of the West employee that joined BMO after the acquisition, a total of 9,400 trees. In April, BMO’s third annual Trees from Trades program resulted in the planting of 125,000 new trees.
For more on National Tree Day and a chance to win a tree planting event for your community in 2024, visit their website, or join the conversation on social media: #NationalTreeDay #NTD2023.
