Carly Quinn

Herald Contributor

This past Saturday on April 29, the Eco-Reps and Food Recovery Network participated in an Arbor Day Celebration. The event was hosted by the town of Bristol in conjunction with TD Green Streets, a grant that is made possible through TD Bank.

TD Green Streets is a branch of TD Forests, an initiative that aims to protect forest habitats to account for the amount of paper that the bank uses every year. TD Bank granted nine municipalities across the country these grants in order to fund the planting of new trees. These grants also permitted educational outreach to neighbors and children of the local areas about the environmental benefits of tree growth.

Bristol made the most of this grant with a week of events. The week focused on the educational growth of students at Colt Andrews School. These students benefited from a hands-on classroom lesson and a field trip to Blithewold’s arboretum. The Arbor Day Celebration concluded the week with a celebration held at the Bristol Industrial Park on Wood Street. The day included live music from a local band, educational games and exhibits, food, and planting of trees by the Colt Andrews students.

During the event, the Eco-Reps and Food Recovery Network discussed sustainability efforts that take place at Roger Williams University, while another student group from the college talked about an extensive tree inventory study that they recently completed. Overall, the day highlighted community engagement and sustainable education.