30 grandparents and their grandchildren are helping restore Chippewa Creek’s shoreline in North Bay by planting 900 seedlings.

This is part of the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority’s 'Restore Your Shore' planting program. With funding from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, 12 species of tree and shrub seedlings are being planted along the Chippewa Creek EcoPath.

This program, along with other programs in partnership with Trees for Nipissing, the Nippising area has seen a driving force for environmental projects.

"Today’s planting provides a great opportunity for seniors to forge a lasting memory with their grandchildren and foster life-long stewardship. As these trees grow, they’ll absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutant particulates, store the carbon, and emit oxygen,” said Troy Storms, the conservation authority’s manager of lands and stewardship.

The seedlings will grow for three to five years, and are destined for planting on City of North Bay Parks and other public lands. They will also provide planting stock for the conservation authority’s naturalization plantings and some will be available to community groups for planting events.

"Having healthy, vibrant green spaces is pivotal to making communities more resilient - today and into the future," says Sarah Colley, Regional Manager, of TD Friends of the Environment Foundation(FEF).

"Through initiatives like the Grandchildren Planting Trees Project, generations can come together to help create a more sustainable tomorrow. With each tree that's planted, it will mature over time and continue to provide benefits to the local community. We're proud to support the North Bay Mattawa Conversation Authority with a TD FEF Grant to help grow and enhance local green spaces," Colley says.

The Restore Your Shore Program allows shoreline and streambank landowners to take part in a program where free trees, shrubs, and plants are provided to protect water quality, aquatic habitat, and prevent erosion and runoff of nutrients.

Grandparents and their grandkids plant seedlings

More to come on this story.