From Common Loons and garter snakes to turtles and butterflies, the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF) has a long history of helping organizations across Canada who are committed to studying and helping out our animal friends.
TD FEF is a national charity that offers funding to community-based, grassroots environmental projects across Canada. Since 1990, TD FEF has supported more than 29,750 projects across the country with over $117 million in funding.
Let's meet some of the birds, fish, insects, and other animals these organizations are helping to study, monitor, and protect.
Common Loons
If you've been lucky enough to hear a loon call from across a still, shimmering lake, it's likely a sound you've never forgotten.
The iconic aquatic birds are well-known for the distinct sound they make. An image of the migratory bird even appears on one side of the Canadian $1 coin, which helped inspire the “loonie” nickname.
The study of loons and their environment is a focus for Birds Canada, a national organization that has received support from TD FEF since the foundation was established 35 years ago.
In 2024, Birds Canada advised that they partnered with QuébecOiseaux to engage 116 volunteer scientists to observe Common Loons and their chicks in Quebec, gathering valuable data about the population and the environmental issues they face.
Loon numbers have been dropping in Québec, said Doug Tozer, Director, Waterbirds and Wetlands, at Birds Canada.
"Birds Canada is working hard to figure out why this is and what we can do about it," he said. "Our 2024 Québec loon project, kindly supported by TD Friends of the Environment, is a big help in trying to get us there."
Salmon
Canada is home to a variety of salmon species on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. They reproduce in freshwater streams and their offspring mature in the ocean – before returning to freshwater to spawn themselves.
The Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) in B.C. said they are continuing the work of their ancestors by caring for the land and the living things that inhabit it.
The construction of a “fish passage” in Penticton is part of their broader mission of kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓, which aims to return salmon to their natural habitats and ranges, including Okanagan Lake and its tributaries, after their traditional spawning habitats were destroyed.
In the nsyilxcən language, spoken in all districts of the Sylix Okanagan territory, kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ roughly translates to "to cause to come back," according to the ONA.
A ceremonial groundbreaking for the construction of the fish passage happened in early March.
TD FEF is a proud supporter of the project and will fund an effort to regreen the banks of the waterway when the construction of the passage is complete, with the goal of creating a better habitat for fish and wildlife.
Moths
We know they nibble little holes in our coats and congregate around bright lights at night, but moths play an important role in our ecosystem – mostly as food for other wildlife.
Bats eat primarily adult moths. So do spiders, toads, frogs, and birds.
Moths also feed on the nectar of plants, which means they help with seed production.
With support from TD FEF, The Friends of Pinery Park created a new moth monitoring station in the southern Ontario provincial park.
Designed to naturally attract moths at night when the insects are most active, the “moth station” provides an opportunity for visitors to see moths up close and contribute information to a scientific database that tracks moth populations and behaviours.
Garter snakes
These small, shy snakes don't love coming face to face with humans. They can be found tucked away in the brush or occasionally sunning themselves on rocks.
In some ways, garter snakes are good friends of anyone with a garden, because they like to eat snails, insects, grasshoppers, slugs, and small rodents – all creatures inclined to target your plants.
They also like to eat fish, tadpoles, worms, and frogs.
Edmonton and Area Land Trust, with support from TD FEF, has worked hard to protect the garter snake population living in a high-traffic areas. Garter snakes travel long distances and vehicles can sometimes be a risk to them.
Forty-eight biologists and volunteers carefully observed, temporarily trapped, measured, and categorized 396 garter snakes. The snakes were then relocated nearby to a hibernaculum (also known as a hibernation habitat) on Edmonton Area Land Trust conservation lands.
Turtles
A variety of turtle populations from coast-to-coast call Canada home. Some species prefer water with sandy or gravelly bottoms, while others seek out lakes and ponds with muddy bottoms. Freshwater turtles get through our harsh winters by hibernating under the water, because most pond and lake bottoms don't freeze.
All eight species of freshwater turtles in Canada are currently designated as at risk.
Ontario-based Turtle Protectors, with support from TD FEF, is raising awareness about the threats to turtle populations, training volunteers on nest and turtle monitoring, and conducting wetland walks.
The organization, which focuses on cultivating and sharing Indigenous knowledge, trains volunteers to survey an area for nesting turtles, cover the egg-lain nests with protective structures, and transport found hatchlings near water to a safe area.
Butterflies
When we think of a beautiful butterfly, we often picture the orange and black wings of the Monarch butterfly. Canada is home to hundreds of species of butterflies, some of which are at risk.
Butterflies feed on nectar and in doing so, collect pollen they can transport to other plants. Most plants need pollinators, like bees and butterflies, to be able to produce new seeds.
With support from TD FEF, Heartland Forest Nature Experience in the Niagara region of Ontario has used monitoring projects to learn more about butterflies and support their habitats.
More than 2,400 participants assisted with a Monarch caterpillar survey and a Spicebush Swallowtail and Promethea Silk Moth survey.
They also planted milkweed seeds and plants as a source of food and installed butterfly feeders.
TD Friends of the Environment
TD FEF supports many organizations and initiatives whose mandates are about helping make our planet a healthier place.
Learn more about the projects TD FEF is proud to support.