MONTREAL, September 6, 2012 - CN today announced the successful candidates for its 2012 From the Ground Up program. Of the 72 applications received in this, the program's inaugural year, 25 communities were selected to receive grants of up to $25,000 each.

The program's objective is to promote the greening of municipal properties across Canada, especially areas in close proximity to rail lines. CN EcoConnexions, with its partners Tree Canada and Communities in Bloom, will help Canadian municipalities establish tree planting initiatives in a sustainable, environmentally responsible manner.

"CN's comprehensive sustainability agenda goes beyond making our own operations as fuel efficient and environmentally friendly as possible.  We also aim to support sustainability initiatives in the communities we serve," said Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer of CN. 

"The From the Ground Up program is an important part of this effort, and we are thrilled with the community response.  The program received high-quality submissions from large and small communities across Canada.  We were so impressed with the submissions that we decided to triple the funding for this year's program."

The From the Ground Up  initiative is intended to enhance a community's environmental/social health and wellbeing as it  relates to one or more of the following:

• Urban forests:  planting, protecting and maintaining trees in your community

• Traffic calming and safety:  Vegetation creates natural noise, visual and movement barriers in parks and public lands along tracks to discourage access to rights-of-way and yards and promote rail safety

• School greening:  Encouraging children to play outdoors within natural treed areas promotes healthy active living, an appreciation for nature and a better environmental footprint for the school in the community.

• Transforming spaces:  Brownfield conversion initiatives that promote recreation and healthy lifestyles for youth and families by changing abandoned and ugly areas into vibrant and active ones. This can involve soil replacement, sod installation, raised bed construction and plant, shrub and tree planting.

• Naturalized areas, park creation or restoration:  Sod, raised beds, planters and other natural structures. Areas lacking imagination can be dramatically improved through proper placement of structures to allow the planting of more natural areas.

CN had originally set aside $150,000 to fund this community tree planting program this year. Given the overwhelming response, the funding was increased to just over $500,000 to be distributed amongst the top 25 applicants.

Successful candidates were chosen on the basis of rigourous selection criteria designed and overseen by CN's program partners, Tree Canada and Communities in Bloom. The two organizations rated each application on those criteria and presented a ranked list of programs to CN. CN then selected final candidates from the top-ranked communities.

"CN recognizes the difficult choices our partners had to make, from so many deserving applications," said Mongeau. "We thank them for their wise counsel and for the excellent job they did in reaching out to Canadian communities to attract such a large number of applications."

Tree planting will begin in the fall in each of the selected communities. The work will  be guided and supported by Communities in Bloom and Tree Canada to ensure the long-term viability of each project.

"Communities in Bloom is looking forward to working with the communities to help them achieve our common goal of enhancing their green spaces for the betterment of our environment" said Raymond Carrière, Founding President of Communities in Bloom. "These CN From the Ground Up projects will be another demonstration of the social, environmental and economical benefits of green spaces."

The CN EcoConnexions From the Ground Up program is now accepting applications for spring 2013 community tree plantings. The goal is to extend plantings to more locations across Canada, again with the assistance of the program partners.

"CN has led the way in connecting Canadians for close to a century," says Tree Canada President Michael Rosen.

"Through opportunities like From the Ground Up, CN is helping municipalities and First Nations communities improve our national landscape for future generations to enjoy. Tree Canada is honoured to be a part of this fantastic initiative."

More information about Tree Canada is available at www.treecanada.ca and about Communities in Bloom at www.communitiesinbloom.ca.

CN EcoConnexions From the Ground Up 2012 Successful Applicants are listed below.

Click here to view a description of each project

Village of Burns Lake, BC
Township of Langley, B.C.
City of Surrey, B.C.
City of Terrace, B.C.
City of Grande Prairie & Grande Prairie Arbor Day Society, Alta.
Town of Hinton, Alta.
Municipality of Jasper, Alta.
Trochu Communities in Bloom, Alta.
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alta.
Town of Humboldt, Sask.
City of Melfort, Sask.
Town of Unity, Sask.
Rural Municipality of Cartier, Man.
City of Dauphin, Man.
West Souris River Conservation District, Man.
Town of Greater Napanee, Ont.
Township of Huron‐Kinloss, Ont.
Town of Oakville, Ont.
ReForest London, Ont.
City of St. Catharines, Ont.
Éco‐quartier du Sud‐Ouest, Montréal, Que.
Ville de Pohénégamook, Que.
Ville de Saint‐Jean‐sur‐Richelieu, Que.
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que.
Elmsdale Beautification Society, N.S.