As part of TD Bank’s #TDTreeDays tree planting initiative, employee volunteers from TD Bank, partnered with Keep the Midlands Beautiful of Columbia, South Carolina, to plant trees across from the Saluda Shoals Park entrance.

TD Bank employees were led by Keep the Midlands Beautiful (KtMB) staff and Saluda Shoals Park staff and succeeded in planting 30 Crepe Myrtle trees. This will help cut down on illegal dumping and sight staging taking place in this area.

Keep the Midlands Beautiful Executive Director Jacqueline Buck was joined by Representative James Smith; Representative Chip Huggins; Lexington County Councilman Phil Yarborough; Mark Smyers, Executive Director of ICRC; Chester Leaks, TD Bank; and Shannon Stephens, Regional Vice President, TD Bank, at the tree planting kickoff.

#TDTreeDays is an example of TD’s commitment to the environment and is a component of TD Forests, an initiative to expand urban forestry to enhance community and economic development.

In another tree planting initiative, Keep the Midlands Beautiful was a recent recipient of an Arbor Day Foundation and CSX riparian grant. In partnership with the City of Columbia Parks and Recreation, Assistant Superintenden Karen Kustafik of Granby Park received 75 assorted trees. These trees were specially chosen for this location to help with erosion and replace the invasive plants that had taken up residence in the Park.
 
Keep the Midlands Beautiful, in partnership with Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin’s 10,000 Tree Initiative, is always striving for opportunities to find grant funding that will further its mission for beautification.