If you’ve never heard of a “cross-pollination pasture,” then you’re about to in Richmond.
As part of the TD bank’s annual TD Tree Days — whereby the bank mobilizes customers and their family and friends to plant trees and shrubs all over the country — around 90 volunteers will plant 164 trees and 318 shrubs at Terra Nova Rural Park on Oct. 1.
The plan is to create the aforementioned pasture in a bid to attract as many local bees back to the area as possible.
“We’re hoping to create this pasture with year-round flowering trees and shrubs to bring back the native pollinators,” said TD’s Lansdowne branch manager Tricia Whitwham, who will help with the planting on TD Trees Day.
“There’s a resident beekeeper at Terra Nova, so hopefully, over time, this may help with that.”
Whitwham said the plan is to plant a wide array of tree species and shrubs to facilitate the year-round blossoms.
Trees such as western red cedar, Pacific crab apple, cherry, hazelnut and cascara are on the menu, along with shrubs such as honeysuckle, rose and sevenberry, all of which should flower at different times of the year.
This year is the seventh TD Tree Days event, with more than 50,000 trees being planted across Canada in 2015.
