PRESS RELEASE   |   FOR RELEASE: September 1, 2021

New Acre™ Project is pleased to announce the second phase of funding from TD Bank Group (TD). Through their contribution to the New Acre Project, TD is pursuing its sustainability objectives by supporting farmers and ranchers to build nature on their land.

In 2019, TD helped launch New Acre Project with a $220,000 grant that reached eight communities across Canada. Today, TD has extended its support contributing a total of 450 acres of nature-based projects managed by farmers and ranchers to deliver cleaner air, cleaner water and to support biodiversity on agricultural landscapes.

Each New Acre project delivers numerous benefits for communities and the environment, including new habitat for wildlife and pollinators, improved water quality and watershed health and climate resilience. Further, each acre supports a culture of stewardship among farmers and ranchers, their families and community partners, all of whom are collaborating to provide nature-based solutions.

“TD’s support of New Acre Project and ALUS communities is a clear statement of the importance of the work being done by farmers and ranchers across the country,” said Katherine Balpataky, who leads New Acre Project as Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships and Business Development at ALUS, New Acre Project’s parent organization.

 New Acre Project is enabling change across Canada, helping to provide resilience to the agricultural sector.

“New Acre Project equips farmers with the support they need to help them advance sustainable agriculture practices,” said Nicole Vadori, Associate Vice President and Head of Environment, TD Bank Group. “Through the TD Ready Commitment, the Bank’s global citizenship platform, we are thrilled to continue supporting ALUS and New Acre Project, having already helped restore 300 acres to date. As a result of innovation and collaboration, together, we are yielding positive social, environmental and economic benefits in communities across Canada.” 

By collaborating with TD, New Acre Project is able to support 450 project acres in ALUS communities across the country, including in Alberta (ALUS Lac Ste. Anne; ALUS Northern Sunrise; ALUS Parkland; and ALUS Red Deer County), Saskatchewan (ALUS Saskatchewan Assiniboine Project), Manitoba (ALUS Assiniboine West), Ontario (ALUS Elgin; ALUS Middlesex; and ALUS Peterborough) and Quebec (ALUS Montérégie).

In each of those communities, farmers and ranchers are taking active measures to ensure the health of their land and water, as well as Canada’s agricultural sector. Farmers like Geraldine Heffernan (above) are on the frontlines of the climate and biodiversity crises, and they are ready to provide solutions. Geraldine and her family operate pasture and hayfield to support goat, sheep and pastured pork on their 100-acre property.

Geraldine has farmed this land since 1985, but she is mindful of passing it on to future generations who will continue to live on and work the land.

“New Acre Project is key to expanding the ALUS program,” said Bryan Gilvesy, ALUS CEO. “By inviting corporate support for project acres, ALUS can fund targeted projects delivered by communities across the country. It’s a funding model that reflects the nimble, responsive solutions that farmers and ranchers deploy on their land every day.”

About ALUS and New Acre Project 

ALUS (originally an acronym for Alternative Land Use Services) is a charitable organization that sustains agriculture and biodiversity for the benefit of communities and future generations. ALUS provides direct financial and technical support to a network of more than a thousand farmers and ranchers who deliver ecosystem services in more than 30 communities across Canada, such as cleaner air, cleaner water, carbon sequestration, erosion control, flood mitigation, pollinator support and wildlife habitat. ALUS’ New Acre Project helps corporations exceed sustainability objectives by supporting farmers and ranchers to build nature on their land. Learn more at  ALUS.ca.