Asheville GreenWorks to plant production orchard in Hillcrest thanks to new grant

Asheville GreenWorks volunteers. Photo courtesy of Asheville GreenWorks

An exciting new venture for Asheville GreenWorks and Hillcrest Apartments means increased food access and new jobs for the public housing development. Eric Bradford, volunteer coordinator for Asheville GreenWorks, adds that the TD Green Streets grant the nonprofit recently received will fund not only the planting of 24 mature apple trees and 26 blueberry bushes, but also five paid positions for Hillcrest residents to tend to the trees this summer.

From Asheville GreenWorks

Press release

Asheville was announced as a winner of TD Green Streets, a grant program from TD Bank, “America’s Most Convenient Bank,” and the Arbor Day Foundation supporting innovation in urban forestry. The $20,000 grant will fund projects throughout Asheville, including establishing a Community Orchard of 24 apple trees in Hillcrest this spring and an Arbor Day planting event at the French Broad River Park on April 24.

TD Green Streets is a component of TD Forests, a North American initiative that helps protect critical forest habitats equal to the amount of paper the bank uses each year. Together, these programs underscore the bank’s commitment to forest protection and stewardship, and are a direct investment in the health of our urban tree canopy.

“TD Bank is proud to award TD Green Streets grants to these municipalities for enhancing their green spaces through urban forestry projects,” said Joe Doolan, Head of Environmental Affairs for TD Bank. “We’re committed to being an environmental leader, and our work with the Arbor Day Foundation helps us do that in communities across our footprint.”

Along with Asheville, the following municipalities were awarded TD Green Streets grants in 2015:

Bridgeport, CT

Miami Gardens, FL

Chicopee, MA

Holyoke, MA

Lawrence, MA

Bronx, NY

Abington, PA

Philadelphia, PA

Alexandria, VA

To be eligible for a TD Green Streets grant, qualified municipalities were required to be current Arbor Day Foundation Tree City USA®-designated communities within TD Bank’s United States footprint. Tree City USA® is the nation’s premier urban and community forestry program, providing a foundation for effective, well-organized community tree care.

About TD Green Streets

Launched in 2013 by TD and the Arbor Day Foundation, TD Green Streets supports innovation in urban forestry. To be eligible for a TD Green Streets grant, qualified municipalities must be a current Arbor Day Foundation Tree City USA-designated community within TD Bank’s U.S. footprint, and the proposed project must take place in a low- to moderate-income neighborhood. More information is available at tdgreenstreets.com.

About the Arbor Day Foundation

The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation and education organization of one million members, with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at arborday.org, or by visiting us on Facebook, Twitter or our blog.

About TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®

TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 8 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at approximately 1,300 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth®, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US.

TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol “TD”. To learn more, visit www.td.com.

About Asheville GreenWorks

Asheville GreenWorks is an urban environmental organization working to enhance the community through educational and volunteer-based environmental programs. With thousands of volunteers, we engage the community in grassroots projects such as tree plantings, environmental cleanups, anti-litter and waste reduction education, creation and maintenance of green spaces, playground enhancement, neighborhood beautification and care and preservation of Asheville’s rivers and trees.

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About Carrie Eidson
Multimedia journalist and Green Scene editor at Mountain Xpress. Part-time Twitterer @mxenv but also reachable at ceidson@mountainx.com. Follow me @carrieeidson

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