Oct 30: Surrey Society Wins Award

Surrey, October 30, 2002 - A project to restore habitat and parklands in three Surrey locations has received a $25,000 EnviroFund award from Vancity Credit Union.

The project is a partnership between five organizations with the common goal of restoring wildlife habitat in Surrey's natural areas while educating nearby landowners on park stewardship and responsibility. The three areas to undergo restoration were chosen because of their size and ecological significance. Blackie Spit Park is an important area of migrating and wintering birds, while Sunnyside Acres and Green Timbers Urban Forests are examples of coastal second-growth rainforest and host to a variety of animals, birds and salmon streams.

Vancity's EnviroFund was established in 1990 to support environment projects in the communities the credit union serves. Over the years, the EnviroFund has donated $902,000 to community groups. The funds come from Vancity's VISA card program, which donates five per cent of profits from its Gold, Silver and EnviroFund credit cards to the EnviroFund.

This year, Vancity was looking for projects focusing on air quality and transportation, water, wetlands or watersheds, or hazardous wastes and toxins in the environment. To find out how to submit an application for a 2003 EnviroFund grant, visit vancity.com/grants or call 604-877-7620.

Vancity is Canada's largest credit union, with $7.5 billion in assets, 282,000 members, and 39 branches throughout Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Victoria. Vancity owns Citizens Bank of Canada, serving members across the country by telephone, ATM, and the Internet. Both Vancity and Citizens Bank are guided by a commitment to corporate social responsibility, and to improve the quality of life in the communities where we live and work.