RBC Blue Water Project donates $2.6 million to protect water across the world

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Fifty-three U.S. non-profits receive grants to protect freshwater resources

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., (June 4, 2015) – RBC today announced the recipients of the 2015 RBC Blue Water Project Leadership and Community Action Grants. Totaling more than $2.6 million for water protection programs, 159 organizations across nine countries, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Luxembourg, China, India, Mexico and Grand Bahama, received grants from RBC. The grants will fund programs that improve urban water quality, enhance storm water management and protect and restore urban waterways.

“As stewards of the environment, we have a responsibility to leave the world a better place than we found it,” said John Taft, CEO, RBC Wealth Management-U.S. “The support of these organizations is an important part of our efforts to create a sustainable future and protect fresh water resources for generations to come.”

In the United States, more than $580,000 was donated to 53 organizations.

New York Harbor Foundation, $100,000: The Billion Oyster Project is a long-term, large-scale plan to restore one billion live oysters in New York Harbor over the next twenty years and, in the process, educate thousands of young people in the Metropolitan area about the ecology and economy of their local marine environment. Building on programs developed over the last several years, this project will expand operations in five areas: oyster production, reef construction, shell collection, middle school curriculum and public engagement. To date, the Foundation has grown 11.5 million oysters, collected 50 tons of oyster shells from local restaurants and engaged 2,000 public school students in the project. Phase II will inform how best to achieve the restoration goal of one billion oysters and 200 acres of oyster reef to the Harbor by 2034.

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, $85,000: MacArthur Meadow is in the Tennessee Hollow Watershed in the Presidio of San Francisco. At present, the meadow is full of fill materials and invasive vegetation. This project will restore the site, including the removal of 15 invasive plant species and 10,000 cubic yards of fill. The site will be replanted with 60 native plant species. The Conservancy will also expand existing watershed education programs for local youth and share lessons learned with the scientific and park communities.

The New York Botanical Garden, $50,000: The Green Zone is a reconstruction project for a public area of The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) that will preserve, protect, manage and monitor a key urban waterway in NYC. The Green Zone will reduce paved surfaces, increase infiltration of storm water to extract pollutants, and reduce storm water flow. NYBG will redesign the entrance path and adjacent landscapes to the East entrance, as well as the Family Garden. This project also aims to raise public awareness around the importance of clean urban water and conservation in partnership with NYBG’s Children’s Education Programs.

Conservation Lands Foundation Inc., $20,000: The Conservation Lands Foundation (CLF) will help restore 25 floodplain acres in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, near Taos. CLF will partner with a veterans-youth conservation corps, the Bureau of Land Management and non-profit volunteers to re-establish native plants, control run-off, and improve water quality and habitat. RBC’s funding will ensure a nine-member veterans-youth corps receives pay, training, experience and education awards. It will also help inform communities about river restoration and the role BLM’s National Conservation Lands—of which the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument is a key part—have in protecting water quality.

Local organizations: $327,000 in Community Action Grants will be shared by these 49 organizations in the United States:

  • Trout Unlimited – St. Cloud Chapter ($2,000)
  • The Fund For Lake George Inc. ($3,000)
  • Friends of Ballona Wetlands ($3,000)
  • Piscataquog Land Conservancy ($3,000)
  • Hudson Highlands Land Trust Inc. ($3,000)
  • The River Project Inc. ($3,000)
  • Maine Island Trail Association ($3,500)
  • National Aquarium in Baltimore Inc. ($3,500)
  • Wildlands Restoration Volunteers ($4,000)
  • Bronx River Alliance Inc. ($4,000)
  • Hudson River Watershed Alliance Inc. ($4,000)
  • Rensselaer Land Trust Inc. ($4,000)
  • River Management Society ($5,000)
  • Delaware Futures Inc. ($5,000)
  • Scenic Hudson Inc. ($5,000)
  • Rocky Mountain College ($5,000)
  • Sierra Nevada Journeys ($5,000)
  • Friends of the Merrimack River Greenway Trail ($5,000)
  • Gundalow Company ($5,000)
  • Citizens Campaign Fund for the Environment ($5,000)
  • Otsego Land Trust Inc. ($5,000)
  • Housatonic Valley Association Inc. ($5,000)
  • Chesapeake Bay foundation Inc. ($5,000)
  • Battenkill Conservancy – New York ($5,000)
  • Puget Sound Reservation Fund ($5,000)
  • New River Conservancy ($7,000)
  • National Audubon Society Inc. ($7,500)
  • Save The Bays Youth Environmental Ambassadors ($7,500)
  • Montana Audubon ($7,500) • Great Swamp Watershed Association ($7,600)
  • Friends of Van Cortland Park Inc. ($7,600)
  • Buildon Inc. ($8,000)
  • Great River Greening ($9,000)
  • Alliance for the Great Lakes ($9,000)
  • Tennessee Aquarium ($9,000)
  • Tampa Baywatch Inc. ($9,800)
  • Heal The Bay ($10,000)
  • Wyland Foundation ($10,000)
  • Village of Niles ($10,000)
  • Living Lands & Waters ($10,000)
  • Spark Youth ($10,000)
  • Minnesota Landscape Arboretum ($10,000)
  • Friends of the Mississippi River ($10,000)
  • Camp Fire USA Minnesota Council ($10,000)
  • Stony Brook-Millstone Watersheds Association ($10,000)
  • Reeves-Reed Arboretum ($10,000)
  • Rocking The Boat Inc. ($10,000)
  • Stroud Water Research Center ($10,000)
  • Pennsylvania Resources Council ($10,000)
  • Reach Foundation ($10,000)       

About the RBC Blue Water Project

The RBC Blue Water Project is a historic, wide-ranging, 10-year global commitment to help protect the world’s most precious natural resource: fresh water. Since 2007, RBC has pledged nearly C$44 million to more than 740 charitable organizations worldwide that protect watersheds and promote access to clean drinking water, with an additional $8.8 million pledged to universities for water programs.
The RBC Blue Water Project is focused on supporting initiatives that help protect water in towns, cities, and urbanized areas. For more information on the RBC Blue Water Project, visit www.rbc.com/bluewater.

About RBC Wealth Management – U.S.

In the United States, RBC Wealth Management operates as a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC. Founded in 1909, RBC Capital Markets, LLC. is a member of the New York Stock Exchange, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, and other major securities exchanges. RBC Wealth Management has $270 billion in total client assets with 1,900 financial advisors operating in 200 locations in 41 states.

For Media Inquiries, Please Contact:

Jonell Lundquist, RBC Wealth Management
612-371-2239 or jonell.lundquist@rbc.com